Retracing Steps
by Chrysne
Summary: "Your sister's missing." When they found out that Blossom had completely and suddenly disappeared without a trace, Buttercup, Bubbles, and Bunny take it amongst themselves to find out what happened, guided by their eldest sister's journal entries. Flying to Italy, can they handle the truth? Especially when they meet their matches, literally. *Reds/Greens/Blues/Purples* *All Human*
1. Prologue

The sound of footsteps roamed the halls of the lavish manor…

* * *

_The doorbell rang thrice before the door opened._

* * *

Heels clicked in the polished marble floors as sneakers squeaked in the ornate ivory wooden stairs…

* * *

"_Yes?" A sweet melodious voice inquired._

* * *

Numerous doors were opened and closed…

* * *

_The man in the officer's uniform held downcast eyes._

* * *

She clicked her tongue in irritation…

* * *

"_I apologize for what I'm about to tell you…"_

* * *

She angrily blinked the growing tears away…

* * *

_The officer offered an apologetic look at the three occupants of the house._

* * *

Gripping the silver handle, she burst open the door…

* * *

_The officer could not bear to look at their shocked faces._

* * *

She was met with silence from the spacious bedroom as her sister placed a hand on her shoulder…

* * *

"…_Your sister's missing."_

* * *

"BLOSSOM!"

* * *

**RETRACING STEPS**

* * *

Buttercup panted from thoroughly searching every corner of the grand mansion where their currently-missing older sister lived.

* * *

**Buttercup Utonium**

"**The Toughest Fighter"**

***Medium-length black hair in messy spikes, layering up to her mid shoulders**

***Peridot green eyes**

**Age: 17**

* * *

Her black bangs currently hid her eyes, panting as she hunched over in exhaustion, hands on her knees.

Blossom's house was HUGE.

Bubbles cried in one corner of the lavish bedroom, facing a large pristine glass dresser on the red carpeted floors.

* * *

**Bubbles Utonium**

"**The Joy and The Laughter"**

***Long golden blonde hair flowing down to her elbows in a mess of waves, commonly tied into twin pigtails**

***Aquamarine blue eyes**

**Age: 17**

* * *

Bunny pursed her lips, one consoling hand on her elder sister's shoulder, her free hand slowly clenching and unclenching as she looked at her other sister with teary eyes.

* * *

**Bunny Utonium**

"**The Cheery Adventurer"**

***Long chocolate brown hair reaching to her waist, usually styled into a high ponytail**

***Amethyst purple eyes**

**Age: 16**

* * *

Bubbles sobbed, wiping away her tears with a frilly baby blue handkerchief, as all three Utonium sisters stared at a framed portrait of their eldest sibling, the last Utonium sister.

* * *

**Blossom Utonium**

"**Commander and The Leader"**

***Long straight orange-red hair down to her lower thighs**

***Kunzite pink eyes**

**Age: 18**

* * *

"She's…" Bunny broke the silence as she softly spoke. "She's really missing…".

Buttercup growled, pounding a fist on the ivory wooden door.

Bubbles, now just hiccupping, dabbed at her eyes. She sniffed as she clutched the portrait, running her thumb over the ornate frame.

"Nothing's missing." Buttercup sighed deeply, running a hand through her black locks. "She couldn't have left.".

"She would have told us if she left…" Bubbles murmured quietly.

"No signs of a struggle either." Bunny added, plopping down on the big king-sized pearl pink bed, the feathery silk sheets instantly helping her relax as she fingered the silk pink canopy drapes hanging from the ivory wooden bed frame. "So it couldn't have been kidnapping, or anything like that…".

"But she couldn't have just disappeared without a reason!" Bubbles protested, hugging the golden picture frame tighter to her chest.

"We know that!" Buttercup snapped, extremely stressed out.

"Buttercup!" Bunny frowned.

The black-haired girl sighed, "I'm sorry, okay? It's just that…".

"We know, Buttercup." Bubbles softly stated, "We miss her too…".

"If only we knew what happened!" Buttercup shouted, aggravated.

Bunny sighed before lying back down on the fluffy bed's ruffled silk sheets.

She suddenly shot back up.

"Ow!"

Buttercup and Bubbles both looked at their youngest sister as Bunny suddenly kept on searching the bed, throwing away the silk sheets and comforters on the carpeted floor.

"I laid down on something!" She moved dozens of soft pearl pink pillows. "Almost broke my spine on it too." She grumbled.

"What-"

"Aha!" Bunny grinned, pulling out a very big and very thick…

…pink journal.

"A journal?" Buttercup raised a brow. "Really?".

"It's Blossom's!" Bunny gasped, tracing a finger on the golden name of her sister etched onto the hardbound cover.

"No duh." The toughest of them all rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"It won't open!" Bunny pouted, cheeks puffed as she kept on trying to pry open the pink journal.

"That's 'cause it's locked, genius."

Bunny stuck her tongue out at her second eldest sister, tossing a pink pillow at her.

Buttercup rolled her eyes and effortlessly dodged the small projectile.

"Where's the key?"

"Hell if I know." Buttercup shrugged.

Bubbles hugged the picture frame tighter, and gasped as a small silver item fell down on the carpet floor.

"It's the key!" Bunny quickly grabbed the small golden key, lying flat on her stomach.

"Girls, I don't think we should be doing this…" Bubbles bit her lip, placing the portrait back on one of the glass shelves.

"What're you saying, Bubbles?" Buttercup looked at her blonde sister.

"We're invading Blossom's privacy…"

"But we might find something helpful in her journal!" Bunny spoke up, "A clue, a hint, anything!".

The brown-haired girl immediately opened the pink book as Buttercup grabbed a nearby white beanbag chair and plopped down on it.

"Oh…please forgive us, Blossom!" Bubbles sighed yieldingly, taking a big fuzzy pillow and laying it on the red carpet floor.

"Let's see…" Bunny flipped through the scented pages.

It wasn't her business if Blossom wanted to waste perfume.

Bunny sniffed the air.

Expensive perfume, no less!

"It starts about… 3 years ago…"

The three sisters shared a look and nodded to each other.

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN Powerpuff Girls!**

* * *

**Me: Confusing? I hope not…**

**I wanted to make Buttercup and Bubbles twins of opposites, with them being the same age, but decided against it.**

**And, anyone else notice that their eyes are all gemstones? *Grins***

**Just the first part, sort of the prologue of the story, let me know what you think!**

**Also, if you like this, please check out my other PPG story: "Inverse"**


	2. I

_Buttercup, Bubbles, and Bunny,_

_I know that my journal, containing all my thoughts, memories, and secrets, is in your capable hands right now. _

_Am I right? _

_Still, I feel relieved and glad that you, my sisters, have found my life's records. _

_Alive is what I felt as I experienced many wonderful adventures, and now, I get to share them all with you!_

_So I filled this journal in hopes that you, my sisters, would be able to find it and share in my breathtaking findings._

_Do not be surprised though, I do not want you to merely just skim through words, I intend for you to walk through real experiences and make genuine memories!_

_Not only reading my journal entries, I want all three of you to experience them all as well!_

_Worry not, everything's just begun._

_~Blossom Utonium_

* * *

"…"

* * *

"WHAT!?"

* * *

**RETRACING STEPS**

* * *

"Even when she's missing, Blossom **still** makes our lives harder than it already is!" Buttercup growled out, crossing her arms as she leaned back onto her seat, the noise of the plane drowned out by the loud music blasting from her green iPod.

All three Utonium sisters were currently on a plane, heading straight for Italy.

"Don't be like that, Buttercup…" Bubbles smiled, closing her small 'Italian Language' book. "I know Blossom, she never does things without a reason.".

"Yeah," The black-haired girl grumbled. "To torture us eternally.".

"Oh c'mon, Buttercup!" Bunny bounced excitedly on her seat, the pink journal tucked safely inside her small lavender backpack. "We're going to Italy! For free!".

All funds and expenses were provided for by their eldest sister, as she had written in her note that she had left them each a credit card for them to freely use as they please.

All three Utonium sisters found three credit cards inside the pink envelope that went with the pink note conveniently stuck onto the first page of the journal.

Three **golden** credit cards.

Bubbles and Bunny swore they had a saint for a sister.

Buttercup wondered just where in the world did Blossom get all that money.

"We're not free!" Buttercup objected, "We'll be reliving all of Bloss' experiences!".

She was inwardly cursing the pink journal.

"It'll be so fun!" Bunny beamed. There was a reason she was titled 'The Cheery Adventurer'.

"I agree!" Bubbles giggled. "It's Italy after all! I can't wait to visit all the shops and stores!".

"I can't believe we're going on an adventure!" Bunny continued, "This is the best vacation ever!".

"We're not on a vacation!" Buttercup snapped, turning her head back to face her youngest sister.

"Holiday then?"

"No!"

"We're still going on an adventure though." Bunny pouted childishly as Bubbles giggled. "Maybe even around the world!".

"Oh, hell no!" Buttercup spat, eye twitching. 'With all of Blossom's international trips, it's most likely to happen!'.

Bubbles voiced the irritated black-haired girl's thoughts, adding some of her own. "…Blossom wanted this, right?".

Both of her sisters turned towards her.

"What do you mean, Bubbles?" Bunny tilted her head cutely.

Bubbles lowered her eyes, "This is Blossom's wish, maybe even her last-".

"Don't finish that statement." Buttercup narrowed her eyes. "Don't you **dare** finish that statement!".

"Don't talk like she's… gone!" Bunny nodded, agreeing with her toughest sister.

She couldn't even say the word.

She would never say the word.

Not since the Professor's death.

It was taboo to **all** of them.

It was only made worse when Blossom mysteriously disappeared, just like he did.

They never **did** state the cause of his death…

"She's out there, I know it!"

"Blossom's tough, Bubbles…" Buttercup's expression softened. "Even tougher than all of us… but don't ever tell her I said that.".

Bubbles giggled, feeling a sense of new assurance.

Bunny smiled in agreement, and then adopted a mischievous expression.

"We can finally meet 'mystery man'!"

One reason why they rarely ever see their eldest sister is that she was the one person who could successfully steal Bunny's title, what with all of her constant international trips and visits.

Hell, Blossom spends only one to three months at most at her own house every year!

Which is why the three Utonium sisters often joked about a secret, rich, handsome, genius, foreign 'mystery man' that's been stealing their eldest sister from them.

Bubbles was now laughing with Bunny while Buttercup smirked.

"This reminds me when Blossom first left for Italy three years ago…" Bubbles smiled gently, reminiscing as she looked outside the plane's window. "She was chosen in the foreign student exchange program.".

"Now that you mention it," Bunny quipped, "Wasn't Italy one of her favorites?".

"It **is** her favorite." The toughest of the three spoke, adjusting her black ear buds.

"She always goes there at least once or twice a year…" Bubbles nodded, crossing her legs. "And now we'll get to see for ourselves!".

"Yeah, remind me again why Italy, of all places?" Buttercup rolled her eyes, an annoyed expression on her face.

"Because," Bunny grinned, patting her backpack. "That's the location of the first journal entry!".

* * *

_**Saturday, April 6th**_

_My name is Blossom Utonium, and I've decided to start a journal!_

_I've just recently turned 16 and currently in the breathtaking Italy, thanks to a foreign student exchange program I was chosen to go on._

_Thankfully, I'm used to traveling all the time so it wasn't that hard to adjust, all I need now is to learn Italian and I'll be all set!_

_I've arrived only just a week ago and already I fell in love with Italy, I just wish my three sisters were right here with me…_

_Right now I'm exploring and touring, sightseeing as I have a lot of free time (It is a Saturday after all), I wanted to relax before I start my classes and what better way than to see Italy? I've decided to start in the nearest to my hotel, which would be a scenic boardwalk lined with all kinds of shops and stalls next to a gorgeous white-sand beach. And after that, I'll be visiting one of the most famous oblique monuments in Italy, and the world, tomorrow._

_I've bought this beautiful journal in one of the elegant shops stationed in the boardwalk, the fresh winds blowing._

* * *

"That's it?" Buttercup frowned, "What about the rest?".

Bunny flipped through the rest of the pages, only to find empty blanks.

"Looks like we'll have to find out the rest when we get there…" The youngest of the girls stated, blinking. "Cool!".

"What!?" Buttercup shouted as Bubbles sent apologetic looks to the other passengers. "What is this, some kind of journal page hunt!?".

"Awesome!" Bunny grinned, hugging the pink journal as she started bouncing on her seat anew.

"Not awesome!" The toughest of them all snarled. "I am not about to waste my time looking for some stupid pages that may not even be there anymore!".

"But Buttercup~" Bunny whined, putting on a cute puppy dog pout.

"Besides," Buttercup continued, looking annoyed. "We're not even sure where this stupid hunt leads to!".

"Well, look at it this way Buttercup…" Bubbles smiled, albeit a bit unsurely. "We get to miss school?...".

Buttercup was silent for a few seconds before huffing as she leaned back on her seat and crossed her arms.

"…And just where do we go first?"

Bubbles and Bunny smiled, the latter more so than the former.

"Well, I would guess we'll need to visit the shop where Blossom got this journal…" Bubbles stated, pondering.

"Yeah, but the question is where, exactly?" Buttercup prodded, looking at both her sisters.

"There are lots of boardwalks and beaches and hotels in Italy!" Bunny frowned, not even she would want to search forever.

"Search the journal again." Their black-haired sister instructed, looking back as Bunny nodded.

Bubbles was silent for a while before looking up, "Oblique…".

Both sisters looked at her.

"Oblique is slanting, right?"

"Yeah, why'd you ask?" Buttercup nodded as she raised a brow.

"Well, Blossom wrote that she would be visiting the oblique monument in Italy after touring the boardwalk…" Bubbles stated, getting nods from her sisters. "Oblique is slanting, and the only slanting monument in Italy famous enough to be well known throughout the world is the leaning tower of Pisa.".

Bunny grinned while Buttercup did the opposite.

"And how sure are you that we need to go to Pisa?".

"Think about it," Bunny replied for her blonde sister. "She needs to be near the leaning tower to be able to visit it in one day. And Tuscany, where Pisa is located, is home to beautiful white sand beaches.".

Bunny's knowledge about all things international, including places and relations, was never wrong.

"You have a point there." Buttercup nodded, tone accepting. "But if you're wrong and I ended up searching the wrong place… so help me, I'll burn all of your stuff to ashes, including all of Bubble's walk-in closet full of designer shoes and Bunny's prized collection of souvenirs Blossom gave us!".

"NOOO!"

This time, it was Buttercup who sent the other passengers the apologetic look.

* * *

The girls finally arrived in their destination: Pisa, Tuscany in Italy.

They booked a reservation in the only hotel closest to both the famous leaning monument and a boardwalk on a white-sand beach.

Taking the whole day to rest and recover from their jet-lag, as Blossom was the sole Utonium sister that had actually traveled to other countries and places, they started moving the next day.

Buttercup, Bubbles, and Bunny stared at the long boardwalk lined with multitudes of shops and stalls, filled with crowds of differing tourists.

"How the hell do we search in this!?" Buttercup gaped, eyes wide behind her black shades.

Bubbles and Bunny were silent, equally gaping.

"…There are a total of 201 stores stationed in this boardwalk." Bunny stated monotonously. "105 shops and 96 stalls.".

Neither sister questioned her.

They both knew Bunny was never wrong in her area of expertise.

"Eliminate the 96 stalls, and we're left with the 105 shops…" Bubbles murmured, eyes twinkling. Even the sheer magnitude of the number of shops didn't discourage her from her love of shopping.

"So we split up then." Buttercup grumbled. "35 each… dammit!".

She hated shopping.

She especially hated shopping for no important reason.

"Good luck concentrating in this crowd." The black haired girl waved a hand as her two sisters looked at her retreating form.

"So since we know Buttercup's taking the nearest shops, I'll take the middle ones!" Bunny smiled, camera safely tucked in her small backpack along with the pink journal, and walked off.

Bubbles didn't protest, immediately starting on her shopping expedition.

Humming to herself, Bubbles thanked the 19th store owner that she had asked if they ever sold a journal like the one owned by their eldest sister.

Not one so far.

It was a good thing she taught her sisters a bit of Italian, languages were her specialty after all.

She was about to walk out the rather stylish store, when something caught her eye.

It was a necklace with a small black camera pendant hanging off the black necklace strings.

Her aquamarine blue eyes glittered as she silently squealed.

Bunny may be the one with the camera, but Bubbles was the one with the artistic talent and expertise.

Bubbles loved taking pictures, of all genres, but she loved taking pictures of different people the most.

On the highest shelf, Bubbles tried reaching for the necklace, but she was too short.

"If only Buttercup was here…" The blonde pouted cutely, reaching again for the necklace, when another hand gently grabbed the small item.

Bubbles looked to her left and widened her eyes as a tall brown haired guy lowered the necklace and held it to her. The rather cute guy smiled, "I believe you wanted this?".

"A-Ah, t-thank you…" Bubbles blushed, fumbling with the necklace for a bit as she stared at his sapphire blue eyes, eyes that were the color of water. "H-How did you know I speak English?".

The guy had spoken in perfect, flawless English and that baffled her.

She had been speaking Italian the entire time she was at the store.

The cute guy smiled brightly, sending Bubbles' heart racing. He shrugged, slightly wrinkling the black jacket he wore, the blue fur trim complementing his eyes. "You were whispering earlier. And you're welcome, I hate to see a girl frown, especially one as cute as you!".

Bubbles blushed deeper, clutching the black necklace closer to her chest as he politely bid a farewell and left with a smile.

Bubbles stood there as she paid for the necklace, when her phone rang all of a sudden.

A bit out of it from the moment earlier, she uttered a soft "Hello?...".

"Bubbles, stop searching and come over to my location." Bunny called, a hint of exasperation present in her voice. "I found our store.".

That got Bubbles out of her semi-trance. "Are you sure?".

"Oh yeah. …"

* * *

Via the GPS installed in their phones, Bubbles arrived at the same time as Buttercup to where Bunny stood, staring in front of a small store.

Both sisters stared at the name of the store displayed in fancy calligraphy.

'_Venti Freschi Che Soffiano'_

"A.k.a., thanks to a helpful lady I asked earlier, 'Fresh Winds Blowing'." Bunny dully stated, a small twitch in her eyes.

All three remembered the last statement from the journal entry.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Buttercup cursed loudly, extremely irritated that she had to search 34 shops. She was about to ask the owner of her 35th shop when Bunny called.

All the other tourists edged away from her.

"Well, the lady was right." Bubbles nodded. "It's 'Fresh Winds Blowing'.".

"Let's just find the damn page, or whatever!" Buttercup stormed in, obviously fuming.

The store owner was a sweet and kind old lady that had the aura of a loving grandmother.

"Yes?" She asked with a smile, "May I help you three sweethearts?".

"Yes," Bubbles smiled back as Bunny took out the pink journal. "We were wondering if you had ever sold a journal like this one?".

The owner adjusted her glasses, squinting as she took a good look at the journal.

"Oh yes!" The lady smiled, nodding slowly.

"Are you sure… ma'am?" Buttercup asked, adding the 'ma'am' after a second.

Bubbles had nudged her with her elbow, she was not used to being polite.

"Oh yes, I remember all of my clients!" The lady smiled sweetly. "If I'm correct, the only one who bought that would be a kind young lady…".

"Did she have long orange-red hair?" Bunny asked hopefully.

"Oh yes, she also had these unique pink eyes too…"

Buttercup, Bubbles, and Bunny all shared a look and smiled.

"Now that you mentioned it…" The lady took out a small pink envelope. "She came back years ago, though I can't seem to remember when exactly, and politely told me to give this to three girls who would come and inquire about a pink journal…".

The old lady handed the pink envelope to Bubbles with a smile, "It's you three, isn't it?".

Bubbles nodded, happily taking the envelope.

"You know, you four look alike…" The old lady curiously stated as the three sisters were about to leave. "You four are sisters, aren't you?...".

"Yes ma'am, we are." Bubbles nodded, politely replying.

The old lady smiled, "Take care of yourselves, okay? And please do send my greetings to your sister for me!".

"We will ma'am, and thank you!" Bunny beamed, replying with the little Italian language she knew.

Finding a nice small café, the three sat down for lunch as they discussed their recent findings.

"Dang, Bubbles. The guy made your heart race, why didn't you kiss him already?" Bunny smiled mischievously, amethyst purple eyes twinkling, her chin on her entwined hands as she rested her elbows on the small table.

Bubbles blushed heavily, "Bunny!".

"What if the guy wasn't as perfect as he seemed?" Buttercup rolled her eyes, taking a huge sip of her soda.

"Oh yeah?" Bunny turned towards her second eldest sister. "Like what?".

"Like, what if…" Buttercup took a few seconds to think. "Like, what if he was… in a gang, or something?".

Bunny and Bubbles rolled their eyes.

"There are no gangs in Italy, Buttercup." Bubbles twirled her pasta around her fork.

"Actually," Bunny quipped, "There is the Mafia, more appropriately the Sicilian Mafia, since we're here in Italy.".

"Oh come on!" Bubbles groaned, "You guys are getting out of hand!".

"Yeah, you're probably right…" Buttercup shrugged, finishing the last of her soda.

"'Probably'?" Bubbles raised a brow.

"Alright, alright, you're right!" Buttercup raised both of her hands defensively. "Sheesh, you'd think we were talking about her boyfriend!...".

Bubbles blushed as Bunny opened the pink envelope.

Inside was a page of the Journal and a torn photo in half. The photo was of Blossom, she was smiling brightly, laughing, as she sat on a small table in an elegant café. Judging by her position, she was not alone, though the picture was torn right at the part that showed her companion.

It was silent at their table, all three girls looking closely at the photo.

"…What..." Bunny softly murmured, yet both of her sisters clearly heard her. "…What do you think it means?".

"I don't know, but something tells me that we should keep it." Buttercup suddenly lost her appetite, shoving away her plate of half-eaten pasta.

Bubbles nodded, "I have a feeling too…".

Bunny placed the journal page in the pink journal and read it.

* * *

_I have just about finished touring the boardwalk and all that it had to offer, when a really strong gust of wind blew away my favorite hat. Naturally, I ran to chase it, mind you that the wind blew it really far, when my hat landed on another's head._

_On another __**guy**__'s head._

_And my hat was a pink beret with a red ribbon._

_It was made even worse when the guy removed my hat and revealed to me a surprised look on his really handsome face as he studied the pink beret._

_Actually, 'really handsome' was a huge understatement._

_I was wide-eyed, not only because of the guy, but because I was actually blushing!_

_Me, Blossom Utonium!_

_I had to get my hat back, so I took a deep breath and approached the guy with a calm expression on my face._

_The guy finally noticed me, and I him._

_Now that I had a good look at him, he looked to be about a year older than I am and had spiky orange-red hair messily framing his face, his bangs partly covering his intense ruby red eyes that remind me of fire._

_Gathering all of my courage and the little Italian language I know, I calmly asked the guy, "Per favore, posso avere il mio cappello?"._

_I was surprised, and embarrassed, when the guy suddenly burst out laughing._

_The guy, even though I had to fight laughing along with him as he had an infectious laugh, just smiled as he placed my beret back on my head._

_I wondered if it was his talent or something to easily make me blush._

"_You can speak in English, you know." He coolly stated, his red eyes studying me intently._

_I was surprised, how did he know?_

_As if reading my mind, he smirked. "I know everyone around here and I don't recognize you, so you must be a foreigner, am I right?"._

_I just nodded, thankfully, I didn't gape._

"_I remember everyone," He continued, his deep voice was mesmerizing. "And I would especially remember someone as beautiful as yourself."._

…_I had prayed that he wasn't a player._

"_Right… well, it was nice meeting you and I apologize as the wind had caused this whole fiasco, so I bid you farewell." I turned around, intent on leaving, when he suddenly stopped me._

_And he didn't even move._

"_You know, your Italian is horrible."_

_I turned back around, an eyebrow raised as he just stood there, looking out at the white beach shores, his tone nonchalant._

_I couldn't figure him out, he was a complete mystery._

"_Excuse me?"_

"_If I didn't know better, I'd have translated what you said earlier as a love confession." He shrugged, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes._

_I just pouted. _

_I couldn't believe his words were actually getting to me!_

"_I can teach you, if you'd like."_

_I couldn't believe he had just said that either._

_In the end, I had somehow accepted and we ended up in a small yet elegant café that was just my type._

_We talked and had gotten to know each other better, and I found out that he wasn't such a bad guy after all. I found out that his name was Brick, and that he was smart, a genius in addition to being handsome, and that we both share a lot of similarities. Truthfully, I was glad that we had gotten to know each other better._

"_Between you and me, was my Italian really bad and messed up?"_

_He just shrugged, drinking his order of iced tea with lemon._

"_Si." _

_I rolled my pink eyes. Honestly, I was glad I wasn't the only one with the impossible natural eye color._

"_But seriously, did I just say a love confession?"_

"_Not really. Your Italian was correct."_

"_Brick!" I stared at his grinning face._

"_Yeah, the love confession was me."_

"_Brick!" I playfully hit his arm, rolling my eyes._

"_What? Don't you believe in love at first sight?"_

_Honestly, I could never tell when he was serious or not, but I had actually hoped he was._

_I didn't fail to realize, however, that he was a sly manipulator. He had actually tricked me into thinking I was wrong, and again when we went to this café._

_In the end, I had to get home as I still had to prepare for my trip to the leaning tower of Pisa tomorrow, so I hurriedly stood up, uttered a quick goodbye (In Italian too!) and quickly left._

_I realized that, the whole time we had been together, not once did he ask me for any contact information…_

* * *

Bubbles was squealing and gushing as Buttercup rolled her peridot green eyes.

"He must be 'mystery man'!" Bunny grinned, placing the journal back in her backpack. "And that explains the picture!".

The journal entry had completely and accurately described the café where Blossom was in the picture.

"So the other half must be Brick!" Bubbles squealed anew.

She was such a romantic.

"Right, right, let's focus, shall we ladies?" Buttercup rolled her eyes again and stood up. "I think we already know our next destination.",

Bubbles and Bunny nodded as all three headed back to their hotel.

They had the leaning tower of Pisa to prepare for.

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS: **

**Per favore, posso avere il mio cappello? (May I please have my hat back?)**

**Si (Yes)**

**There will be Italian language in the story.**

**And I apologize if my Italian's wrong, blame the translator.**

* * *

**Me: To clear some things up, the first part in Chapter 1 was the girls searching Blossom's house. (Bubbles wore the heels while Bunny and Buttercup wore the sneakers) The girl who clicked her tongue and blinked her tears away was Buttercup, while the girl who answered the doorbell in the flashback was Bubbles. (Buttercup and Bunny joined her at the door a minute later, though.)**

**Yes, the cute guy had BROWN hair, not blonde hair.**

**There are no corrections.**

**My only complain about this story?**

**Why did it have to come out in the middle of "Inverse" !?**

**I can't concentrate!**

**I'm not very familiar with all the international stuff, including the famous and popular tourist spots and culture and all that, so please bear with me…**

…**Ah, great, writer's block.**

**Every author's worst nemesis…**

**Along with procrastination, of course…**

* * *

***SPOILER***

**Yes, the Rowdyruff Boys will be in it. Don't know when though, (Seriously. I haven't even completed the whole story yet. I write this as I go.) but they will definitely be in it.**

**They are (along with the girls) the main characters after all!**

***My message: Keep your eyes and minds open ;)**


	3. II

Inserting the key card, he entered the spacious room, greeted by a familiar sight.

"Hey," The guy lounging haphazardly at the large, expensive, lavish couch spoke, hands gripping a silver videogame controller, facing the wide flat screen TV hanging on the wall of the luxurious hotel room. "Where were you?".

He took off his black jacket, the blue fur trim slightly tickling him. "Why do you ask?".

The guy shrugged, never once looking away from his game. "**He** called a short meeting earlier.".

"I miss anything?" He asked, checking his sleek dark blue phone. After a second, he quickly added, "Anything **important**?".

He knew the guy.

"Nope." The guy replied, tone nonchalant. "Just asked about any updates and new info. As always.".

"What did you tell him?" He eyed the guy critically.

He **knew** the guy.

The guy chuckled, "Relax, Blu, I told him we got none. Even **I** know not to mess with him, especially at **this** time.".

He sighed of relief.

"By the way, you could've done a better job, you know."

He looked at the guy, a quizzical expression on his face. "What?".

"Don't play dumb, even though I know you already are." The guy grinned mischievously. "You could have at least gotten the girl's phone number.".

He opened his mouth to protest, but the guy was faster than him.

"But I approve, the girl's a cute and sweet one, nice catch." The guy raised a thumbs up, still not looking away from his game. "And don't worry about me stealing her away from you, I prefer my girls feisty with black hair.".

He blushed.

"By the way,"

Looks like the guy still wasn't finished.

"What the fuck is that on your head?" The guy still didn't look away from his game. "I know you need to be incognito but, really, lil' bro?".

Twitching, he frowned, clutching the soft brown locks.

It only took one swift movement of his arm to take the wig off.

Brown hair did **not** suit him.

* * *

**RETRACING STEPS**

* * *

"Do you think Blossom is with 'mystery man'?" Bunny asked as the three sisters walked along with the other tourists to the leaning tower of Pisa.

Bunny fiddled with her low pigtails in nervousness and excitement. But mostly in excitement.

"Nah." Buttercup replied, staring unimpressed at the slanting monument, eyes behind her black shades. "Blossom could take care of herself. It's impossible to hold her captive against her will.".

Just like all of them, but none more so than Buttercup.

There was a reason her title was 'The Toughest Fighter'.

"I'm still wondering about him though…" Bubbles added, fixing her new black camera necklace.

"Who?" Bunny asked, "'Mystery man'?". Not unless she got to really know him, Bunny still calls Brick 'mystery man'.

Bubbles nodded, "I wonder if he's looking for Blossom, just like us…".

Buttercup snorted.

"Romanticist."

Bunny giggled as Bubbles blushed, "I can't help it!".

Buying their tickets, they decided to split up, with Buttercup taking the stairs ahead of the two youngest Utonium sisters.

"Not even the 294 steps' gonna deter me from exploring all of what the leaning tower of Pisa has to offer!" Bunny shouted oh-so determinedly and made a mad dash at the stairs, leaving behind an embarrassed Bubbles at her wake.

Bunny huffed as she reached the third floor, taking a moment to catch her breath. She was sure that Buttercup will start searching at the highest floor, while Bubbles will take her time in browsing the lower floors. Ever the opposites, but she really does love them dearly.

Grinning, she grabbed her digital camera and started taking all sorts of pictures as she started exploring.

She needed to remind herself to thank Blossom for giving her the opportunity of a lifetime.

Adjusting her camera lens, she stopped as she heard a very faint clicking noise. Examining her camera then looking around, she could only shrug as she resumed her picture taking, only to stop again when something caught her eyes.

Or rather, someone.

Bubbles may be the most boy-inclined of the four of them, but Bunny was the sister that easily gets attracted.

And this guy really caught her eyes.

Looking to be about a year older than her, he had messy soft coffee brown hair almost touching his shoulders and perfectly framing his face, his messy bangs and purple-tinted black shades hiding his eyes as his lips were set in a bored small frown. He was wearing a black trench coat with dark purple fur collar and trimmings with a purple shirt underneath and a black necktie, his hands hidden inside his black pants pockets, giving him a mysterious appeal.

Bunny secretly observed him, pretending to take pictures as she looked from behind her camera lens, only to feel extremely disappointed when she saw his companion.

More specifically, the blonde voluptuous woman at his side.

She looked to be about three years older than him and had the body of a supermodel and the face of an angel, having medium-length wavy blonde hair that ended in large curls, framing her heart-shaped face nicely, alluring navy blue eyes paired with ruby red lips, that and her fashionable clothing, which consisted of a black trench coat, black knee-high heeled boots, a black beret and black shades with a brown tint, Bunny felt stoned and crushed.

She was currently fixing her makeup, checking her face in a small golden compact mirror she held in one hand while she had a small golden lipstick in her other hand, as the guy looked around, an uninterested expression clear on his cute face.

Bunny watched, secretly, as the guy whispered something to his companion, the blonde vixen nodding as the both of them ascended the staircase to the next floor.

She didn't know why, but she felt an urge to follow them.

And she did.

Well, she almost did, if it weren't for her phone vibrating inside her backpack pocket.

Checking her lavender phone, she took one last look up the staircase, but the mysterious pair was gone.

"…Hello?..."

"Yo, Bunny, I need some help over here." Buttercup's voice sounded irritated, a lot more than usual since the start of their trip.

"Alright, where are you?" Bunny sighed, packing away her camera. She forgot to take a picture of the cute guy!

"At the back balcony of the first floor."

"Okay, hold on." Bunny nodded, immediately taking the staircase down, "I'm coming.".

* * *

Bunny walked over to where her sisters stood, arguing.

"I'm telling you, Buttercup, that we can't do that!" Bubbles groaned, tone exasperated.

"And I'm telling you, Bubbles, that we could always just put it back!" Buttercup shot back, tone annoyed.

"Um, girls?..." Bunny raised a brow, checking to see if they were alone.

Thank goodness they were.

Her sisters could be so embarrassing at times…

"Bunny!" Bubbles looked relieved.

"We found the next page…" Buttercup not only sounded annoyed, she looked the part as well.

Bunny knew that tone, "But?...".

"But it's behind this old dusty painting." Her black haired older sister motioned to the large painting behind them. It was of a lush green field overflowing with fresh roses tinted with the morning dew.

"How'd you know?" Bunny tilted her head cutely.

Buttercup merely tapped the gold plated name of the painting.

'_Blossom'_

"Oh."

Bunny then blinked, "Wait, what's the problem then?".

"The 'problem' is," Buttercup sent an irritated look at Bubbles. "Blondie over here doesn't want me to touch the stupid painting.".

"You'd leave fingerprints!" Bubbles groaned, "They'd be traced back to us and then we'd be questioned as to why we touched the painting!".

"So?" Buttercup shot back, frowning.

"We could be accused of theft, or a plot, or something!" Bubbles frowned back.

"You're way too cautious and paranoid, Bubbles!" The toughest of them all shouted.

Bunny sighed, partly annoyed by her sisters' bickering, partly relieved that they were alone.

She suddenly brightened, remembering something, as she rummaged her lavender backpack, pulling out a pair of black leather gloves with a triumphant yell.

"Aha!" Bunny grinned, throwing the thick gloves to her second oldest sister.

"…Bunny, why do you have those?" Bubbles asked as Buttercup raised a brow, but put on the gloves anyway.

"Ehe…" The youngest sister rubbed her head, embarrassed. "I was thinking of going biking later…".

Bubbles raised a brow, but turned around to watch, along with Bunny, as Buttercup carefully and quietly moved the old painting and retrieved the dirty pink envelope behind it.

Buttercup removed the journal page and threw it, and the gloves, to her brown haired sister as she threw the dusty envelope away.

"Ick." Bubbles cringed, "I know it's so dirty, but you really shouldn't litter, Buttercup. You're lucky no one's around…".

Buttercup rolled her eyes, dusting her palms as all three sisters left for their hotel.

* * *

_**Sunday, April 7**__**th**__**  
**_

_Here I am at the leaning tower of Pisa, and I must say, the view is incredibly breathtaking!_

_I've just about finished my tour, and was just enjoying the scenic view, when a strong gust of wind blew away my light pink scarf._

_I was too busy keeping my long orange-red tresses, which were flying in the wind, away from my face to catch it._

"_Seems like someone is hated by the winds." A teasing voice surprised me as I turned around to find Brick, standing behind me, holding my scarf in his hand._

_He was looking at me with an amused glint in his ruby red eyes._

"_Brick?!" I let out once the winds died, frantically smoothing my wild hair. I could not believe his natural ability to easily make me self-conscious when near him! "What are you doing here!?"._

"_Well, well, this must be fate." His voice had a playful tone as he wrapped the pink silky fabric around my bare neck, his warm fingers lightly brushing along the skin, sending light shivers across my body. "Us, meeting again like this…"._

_I swear he was doing it on purpose._

"_And how did you know that I'd be here?" I asked him, crossing my arms._

_He shrugged, "By chance."._

_I raised a brow, "Yes, convenient that we were both touring the leaning tower of Pisa at the exact same day, at the exact same time, and at the exact same place."._

_He just buried his hands inside his pants pockets and grinned, but not even his adorable face could remove my suspicions._

"_Don't you have better things to do rather than following me?" I asked, consciously fixing my scarf._

_His stare was a bit unnerving._

_Especially since he had intense ruby red eyes that remind me of fire._

_Brick shrugged, "I do, but they can wait." He cheekily smiled and extended his arm to me, "You my dear, however, could not. How about I show you around, it's a lot better with a guide, you know…"._

_I glanced at his face. _

_Shrugging, I took the offered hand as the both of us headed for the descending staircase, lightly joking. "Especially a guide as handsome as you?"._

"_Especially a guide as handsome as me." He oh-so arrogantly smirked, making me roll my eyes._

_He was such a jerk._

_A cute jerk, but a jerk nonetheless._

_I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually gonna miss him when I start my classes tomorrow…_

* * *

Bubbles squealed silently as Buttercup scoffed.

"Well, we now know where to go next…" Bunny closed the thick journal, "Do you guys remember where Blossom's exchange school was?".

"Oh right, she did write that she would be starting classes the next day…" Bubbles blinked, closing her eyes as she tried to remember. "It was so long, I forgot…".

"It was three years ago, so if we forgot, we're justified." Buttercup shrugged.

Bunny, thanks to her slightly better-than-average hearing, had to stop herself from flinching as she heard a small clicking sound, followed by a soft 'bang'.

Somehow, she recognized that sound.

She didn't know how, but she knew that sound.

Bunny suddenly halted as she quickly checked her surroundings in slight fear, ignoring the curious and worried stares of her sisters. Call her paranoid, but she was definitely sure.

She had heard the sound of a semi-silenced gunshot.

"Bunny?" Bubbles' voice brought her out, the youngest of the sisters blinking.

"Ah, it's nothing…" Bunny smiled, laughing weakly, but her sisters weren't convinced.

"Okay then…" Buttercup raised a brow, sharing a look with Bubbles.

Bunny just walked away with her sisters, never noticing a pair of dark purple eyes watching her every move.

Reaching their hotel, they had inquired if there was a school stationed near their location.

"Ah sì!" The hotel's manager smiled, nodding. "Il Diamante Academia!".

Bubbles returned the smile, "Grazie mille!".

"So?" Buttercup asked, taking off her black shades. "What'd she say?".

Bubbles beamed, "We'll be visiting the Diamond Academy tomorrow!".

Bunny snapped a finger, "Yeah, I remember now! Blossom went to the Diamond Academy!".

"The 'Diamond Academy'?" Buttercup scoffed, "Sounds like a lame school for snooty rich girls.".

Buttercup rolled her eyes, mocking a snooty accent as she raised her head up high, straightened her body, and twirled a lock of her hair in one finger in a ditzy way, her other arm crossed over her chest.

Bubbles and Bunny almost died of laughter.

"Didn't she hate being there?" Bunny wiped an imaginary tear away.

"Yeah, something about someone, I think…" Bubbles added, nodding.

"A nemesis?" Bunny tilted her head cutely.

"Probably a snooty rich diva." Buttercup rolled her eyes, "I actually pitied her for getting stuck in a whole school full of them.".

All three sisters shared a look.

"Well then pity us next," Bubbles sighed along with her sisters, "Because, even if only for a day, we'll be stuck in a whole school full of them too.".

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS: **

**Ah ****sì**** (Ah yes)**

**Il Diamante****Academia (The Diamond academy)**

**Grazie mille (Thank you very much)**

**Blu (Blue)**

* * *

**Me: Thank you all for your reviews :)**

**Yeah, I haven't actually visited the leaning tower of Pisa (I'm pouting since this story's making me research so much…) so please ignore any corrections and misinformation…**

**And yes, Blossom's exchange school, Diamante Academy, is completely made up. **

**I confess, I don't think this chapter's too good, I was battling writer's block while I wrote this…**

**I'm not good at humor, comebacks and witty lines so, again, please ignore if the lines were cliché, dull, or dry…**

* * *

***SPOILER***

'**Blu' is Italian for Blue ;)**

**Well, that and the 'Lil' Bro' part should be enough to get your minds thinking…**


	4. III

He yawned quietly, tilting his head to the side as his cheeks were half-buried under the thick dark purple fur collar of his black trench coat.

The blonde voluptuous woman at his side smiled, looking away from her golden compact mirror for a mere second, before checking her black purse.

He looked around uninterestedly, his typical bored expression plastered on his handsome face, when he spotted her.

He didn't know why, but something about her felt… different.

He tilted his head, rather childishly, continuing to watch the cheery girl take pictures with her digital camera. She radiated excitement, the complete opposite of what he currently felt.

The woman at his side brought out a small golden 'lipstick', and twisted the cap.

A small faint 'click' resonated throughout the room, but they weren't worried.

He watched, eyes slightly widened behind his black shades, as the girl stopped adjusting her camera lens the exact same time the sound resonated. She curiously examined her camera then looked around the room, and finding nothing wrong, she merely shrugged and resumed her picture taking activity.

A normal human wouldn't be able to hear it.

A normal human shouldn't be able to hear it.

So then, why did she?...

Interesting.

He raised a hidden brow when the girl's eyes looked at him and settled.

He watched as the brown haired girl took some more pictures, but he wasn't fooled.

He knew she was only pretending.

The fact that she was 'taking pictures' only within his area was a dead giveaway.

An amateur attempt at being covert, but an attempt nonetheless.

Not many had what it takes.

Girls would just blatantly stare at him with a dreamy look on their faces.

She, on the other hand, observed him secretly.

She was a different one…

She had potential.

He should know.

He was the master at the covert arts.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his voluptuous companion send him an amused look.

He raised a brow, silently asking her in secret body language, "_What?_".

The blonde woman silently giggled, "_She's a cute one, isn't she?_".

He didn't reply, his eyes spotting their target leaving the room, taking the ascending staircase.

He whispered to his companion, "_Target spotted, get ready._".

The blonde vixen nodded as the both of them followed suit, ascending the staircase in a quick, but nonchalant, manner.

He took one last look behind him, seeing the girl answer her lavender phone.

"First time I saw you with an expression other than boredom." The blonde woman smiled, ruby red lips quirking up amusedly.

He softly grunted as the woman giggled, returning the gold compact mirror to her purse, but not the 'lipstick'.

They ascended to the fourth floor, completely empty save for them and their target, who was enjoying the fresh air as he leaned on the balcony.

Perfect.

He silently ordered, "Minerva.".

The blonde voluptuous woman nodded, taking up an alluring smile as she walked up to their target, her golden 'lipstick' in hand. No man could resist her.

Well, save for him and his brothers, of course.

He watched impassively as Minerva lured their target away from the balcony, and from prying eyes.

Bored, he walked over to where their target once stood, watching the scenery below with half-lidded eyes, when he spotted her. Again.

She was with two other girls, her sisters, judging by their similar faces, all three reading a pink journal as they slowly walked away from the slanting monument.

Another 'click', followed by a soft 'bang', and he knew that Minerva had finished the job.

Now, only they were the only ones left inside the spacious floor.

He watched, again with widened eyes, as the brown haired girl halted and quickly looked around her, her amethyst purple eyes displaying slight fear.

He knew she had heard.

He paid no attention to the clicking of heels on the marble floors, Minerva walking next to him as she put away her golden 'lipstick'.

"…She heard."

"Oh?" Minerva looked at her young boss with a raised brow. "Did she?".

He kept on watching the brown haired girl closely, studying her.

"She did." A gust of wind blew his messy soft coffee brown locks. "Both times.".

Minerva actually looked surprised.

"Interesting… does she know?"

"Yes."

Minerva smiled as she joked, "Well then, I must be losing my touch...".

She, however, froze when she saw the expression on her young boss' face.

He had on a hard look of contempt and well kept-anger, and that scared her.

Minerva knew the reason why, though.

They had a witness.

Never before had that occurred.

All of his jobs had been quick, clean, silent, without proof, without traces, and **no** witnesses. He always finished his jobs **perfectly**.

Until today.

He had a witness.

A brown haired, amethyst purple eyed witness.

He gripped the balcony tighter, surprising his blonde companion, as his eyes hardened on the unique and rather cute girl.

She had broken his straight consecutive record.

* * *

**RETRACING STEPS**

* * *

Buttercup, Bubbles, and Bunny entered the Diamond Academy under the guise of three prospective transfer students.

Unfortunately for the trio, they had entered the school at the exact same time as the celebration of the founding anniversary, which meant that they had to deal with crowds and a whole lot of other problems.

"We so have bad timing." Bunny bluntly stated, moving back as she was almost shoved by a random student, all three girls shoving their way through the heavily-packed crowds, their sights covered by the assorted stalls and booths as colorful ribbons and decorations hung in the air.

All three sisters looked at each other.

Buttercup ran to the left as Bubbles made her way to the right, moving in between the crowds. Bunny groaned, "We're splitting up **again**!?".

Buttercup grumbled as she walked past the crowded hallways, though not quite as crowded as the outside, but still crowded nonetheless. Walking aimlessly, she ended up reaching the large state-of-the-art gymnasium the Diamond academy was well-known for. Raising a brow, she looked on as the large crowds yelled and shouted excitedly and with vigor, people completely filling the gymnasium's vast seats and stands.

Completely opposite of what the Diamond Academy's prim and proper image was supposed to be.

Asking a random guy, she learned that it was currently a heated basketball match between the Diamond Academy's brother school, Golden University, and the school, Quattron Academy, famous for its champion basketball team that was on international-level.

Intrigued, and extremely bored, Buttercup decided to sit down and watch the two famous schools battle it out, the squeaks of the player's shoes and the sounds of the ball dribbling music to her ears.

'I'm sure Bubbles and Bunny wouldn't mind me taking a break…' Buttercup thought, sitting on one of the nearest seats.

She watched as players clad in gold and green battle it out for dominance, both schools locked in a complete stalemate.

'And to think that Quattron is supposed to be the 'kings' of basketball…' Buttercup huffed, watching with half-lidded eyes as she placed her black shades above her head.

The referee whistled loudly, signaling a time-out for both teams.

Buttercup observed both teams with a bored look, the gold-clad players sweating a lot more heavily than their opponents. Turning to face the green-clad players, she stopped on one in particular, the Quattron Academy basketball team captain.

He had chaotic darker-than-black hair spiking dangerously in all directions, his bangs partly covering his sharp and intense emerald green eyes that reminded her of the earth, his forest green uniform sticking to his well-built body, displaying his strong muscles. Buttercup noticed all the girls swoon, blush, and scream at him.

The captain, quickly taking a refreshing drink and drying his face with a green towel, turned around.

Peridot green eyes met emerald green eyes.

The captain smirked, his intense green eyes lingering a second longer onto hers before he looked away, facing his team as he barked out orders.

Buttercup scowled, narrowing her eyes.

He may be devilishly handsome, but Buttercup was no ordinary girl.

Buttercup watched, as soon as the referee whistled the start of the last quarter, the scoreboard favored the green-clad team in mere seconds.

The entire gymnasium was silent, everyone was shocked and stunned as Quattron had completely dominated the game, utterly destroying their competition. The referee had almost forgotten to whistle as the astounding game ended, all Quattron players sporting victorious and smug smirks on their faces.

The captain of the winning team waved lazily at the now-cheering crowd, twisting his head around to face a still stunned Buttercup, her green eyes wide open.

Buttercup blinked, taking in the amused gaze the tall black haired guy, before scowling anew.

It was only when he winked at her that she was knocked out of her gaping stupor.

The captained merely grinned, chuckling as she fiercely glared at him before quickly standing up and stormed off.

His vice captain had to nudge him, really hard, to pry his deep emerald green eyes away from the fuming girl's curvaceous body.

Buttercup cursed herself for giving in to her sister's stupid puppy dog eyes and reluctantly choosing to wear the black body-hugging and definite cleavage-showing shirt Bubbles gave her as a gift, as she knew the pervert's eyes were on her.

Hell, every boy that she passed by ended up gluing their prying eyes on her!

But what really frustrated her was that his stare sent shivers down her spine.

His dark green eyes unnerved her.

And that bothered her.

The black haired girl grumbled as she roamed the hallways, "Great. Right back to square one.".

"Maybe not, sis!" A cheery voice came from behind her, and she did not need to turn around to know the owner of said voice.

"What the hell are you talking about, Bunny?"

Bunny, undisturbed by her elder sister's growling voice and followed closely behind by bubbles, continued to run over to where Buttercup stood. "We think we might have an idea on where the next page is located!".

"Good!" Buttercup sighed, raking a hand through her hair, her black locks layering all around her bare shoulders. "You two go on ahead, I need to let out some steam…".

She could not believe one stupid little guy could cause her this much stress!

They didn't even talk to each other, for crying out loud!

Bubbles and Bunny shared a look before hesitantly nodding. "If you change your mind, we'll be at the music hall.".

Of course.

Buttercup let out a small wry smile.

After all, Blossom was a genius at the piano.

Sighing, she shook her head in a weak attempt to rid herself of the distressing thoughts.

She perfectly that knew it wasn't only the Quattron captain that was causing her this inner turmoil.

It was also her remembrance of **him.**

Her ex.

Her first, and only, boyfriend.

The guy who she had given her everything to.

That was, until he abruptly broke up with her for a cute wavy-haired brunette.

She remembered that that was the second time she had ever cried so hard, right after their father's, the Professor, death.

It took years for her to recover.

She had really loved him.

At least, until he broke her heart and opened her eyes.

* * *

_Buttercup, her gorgeous green eyes now two lifeless blank orbs, stared blankly as she was sat at a small chair by her blonde sister._

_Bubbles smiled, her blue eyes radiating concern for her second eldest sister. "Bunny's got something to show you, Buttercup!"._

_No response._

_Bubbles frowned._

_Really, Buttercup looks more like a real-life living doll each day._

_Opening the double-doors to their school's gymnasium, Buttercup was greeted by the sight of the brown haired heartbreaker tangled within a strong fishing net, completely drenched in hot melted chocolate and drizzled with lots of crushed nuts, rainbow marshmallows and sprinkles, sugar, and multicolored ribbons._

"_Surprise!" Her sisters and friends and classmates yelled, everyone sporting mischievous grins._

"_Oh my god," Bubbles clasped a hand to her mouth, their grinning brown haired youngest sister currently clutching the support rope tying the netted ex-boyfriend to the high ceilings. "Is that a red clown nose on his face?!"._

_Bunny devilishly smirked, "Yup."._

_Everyone laughed as the heartbreaker could only let out muffled yells and sobs as the youngest Utonium had severely duct taped his mouth shut._

_Blossom, her long orange-red hair swishing as she neared her sisters, let out a soft smile as she kneeled beside her black haired sister._

"_Smile for big sis, ne, Bu~tter~cup?" _

"_Blossom…" Robin, Buttercup's best friend and the girls' childhood friend, murmured as she looked at the touching sight._

_Bubbles gasped, tears of joy pricking her eyes as Bunny whooped while pointing to Buttercup._

_The black haired girl had a small, but sure smile on her face, her blank green eyes twinkling once._

* * *

Buttercup let out a soft gasp, her fingers wiping away the small tears that escaped her eyes.

Blossom had been there for her, and it was time to repay the favor.

Shaking her head as she smiled, Buttercup stood up and turned around, leaving to join her sisters at the music hall.

At least, she would have, if not for the tall black haired guy clad in green and black basketball uniform, his sports jacket unzipped to reveal a black shirt underneath along with a silver dog tag necklace, a basketball ball spinning freely and steadily on one finger. His emerald green eyes stared down at her as he easily towered over her, a smirk on his lips.

"Leaving so soon?"

If she were another girl, she'd have fainted at his mesmerizing deep voice.

But she was Buttercup Utonium, the toughest of the Utonium sisters.

The challenge of all challenges.

"Sooner, now that you're here." She grunted, attempting to shove past the, admittedly, wickedly handsome player, but he was a lot stronger than her.

"What's the rush, babe?" He raised his head, amusement glinting off his intense eyes.

"Don't ever call me 'babe'!" Buttercup growled, scowling deeper.

It was as if he had a natural talent of getting in her skin!

"Right, I'd call you by your name, but I don't really know what it is." He smirked, tilting his head a bit, the basketball continuously spinning on his finger. "Care to enlighten a curious guy?".

"No." She bluntly replied, attempting again to bypass the black haired wall in front of her. They were the only ones currently in the corridor.

No such luck.

"Aren't you a feisty one?" He grinned, radiating devilish charm. He tossed the spinning ball into the air and Buttercup watched as he skillfully caught it with his finger, the ball never once stopped spinning.

Showoff.

Buttercup rolled her eyes, "Look, you're wasting my time and I have somewhere else I need to be, so either move, or I'll do it for you.".

"I'll move…" He hummed, face watching the spinning ball balancing on top of his index finger. Buttercup knew his tone, however. He wasn't done. "But you'd have to give me your name first.".

His tone was still the same.

Buttercup narrowed her eyes, "And?...".

He grinned, showing his sharp teeth that almost resembled fangs.

"And you'd have to go out on a date, with me."

Buttercup snarled, "No way in hell!" she harshly slapped the spinning basketball away, sending it rocketing and bouncing off the hard walls, narrowly missing both their bodies by mere inches. The ball bounced off one corner of the corridor, headed right towards her. The captain was prepared to catch it, but was halted, however, when Buttercup expertly caught it in her right palm, her back facing the ball as she never once faced away from the tall guy.

She didn't dare to face away from him.

She didn't trust him.

The captain stared at her with eyebrows raised, Buttercup started bouncing the ball against the marble floors with her right hand, her other hand placed on her hip. "Well?".

"Well, what?"

"Why the hell are you staring at me like that?"

"…"

"What?" Buttercup scowled, "Never seen a girl with expert ball handling skills?".

Really, he wasn't the only captain of their respective school's sports team!

The captain merely blinked, twice, before letting out a huge grin.

"…Now that I've seen this," He ran a hand through his messy darker-than-black hair. "I've got to **have** you.".

Buttercup involuntarily shivered.

The way he just said that sent chills down her spine.

She huffed, tossing the ball back to its owner, who easily caught it, spinning and balancing it on top of his finger.

His pinky finger.

Once again, Buttercup rolled her eyes.

Showoff.

Both stood there as silence reigned in the room, each one staring at the other. Smirk faced scowl.

"Look," It was he who broke the silence, "We both know that nothing would happen, so why don't you save both of us the trouble and just agree to the date?".

"Why me?" The black haired girl frowned, "Of all the girls…".

He didn't answer her.

The black-haired Utonium sister would have forced her way through, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that she would be overpowered easily, even with all her skills. Just one look at the guy would confirm that.

Buttercup's scowl deepened, her peridot green eyes briefly glancing behind her.

Too bad he caught it, though.

"Dead end."

She turned her eyes to the small wooden door to their right.

"Janitor's closet."

Yes, Buttercup **was** crazy enough to glance at the clear glass windows to their left.

"We're at the fourth floor."

"Damn it!" She cursed, glaring hard into the dark emerald pools her captor calls his eyes.

He merely just stared at her with half-lidded eyes.

Buttercup sighed after what seemed like hours, scowling heavily.

"…Fine."

He tilted his head, his tone teasing.

"Fine, what?"

She hesitated for a bit, gritting her teeth. "…Buttercup…".

His emerald green eyes twinkled.

"Fine what, Butter~cup?"

"Don't push it." Buttercup growled, poking a finger at his hard chest. "Fine, I'll go on a date with you…".

His resulting grin nearly blinded her.

"Great!" He whistled a cheery little tune as he walked away.

She furrowed her brows, and sighed, glaring deeply into his retreating back.

He stopped and looked back.

"By the way,"

Buttercup looked up.

"Better remember my name, and the name's Butch, Butterbabe."

Buttercup's resounding scream tore through all four floors of the school's building.

* * *

Bubbles and Bunny looked up as their sister slammed the wooden double doors of the music hall open, her red face screamed at them, "Shut up and read!".

Bunny squeaked, fumbling with the pink journal.

* * *

_**Monday, April 8th**_

_My classes had gone well so far, I'm still at the absolute top and have quickly become the favorite of my teachers and instructors._

_Of course, I really could have gone without the snooty girls I shamefully call my classmates._

_Thankfully, I've made a few friends, they've made my life here at Diamond Academy much more bearable._

_It was nice to know that not all the students here were pompous snobs._

_My friends, two nice twin sisters Cathlin and Caitlin, and I were having a nice conversation as we walked over to the school's open large platinum gates, when the main bane of my foreign exchange life appeared._

_Her name? _

_Princess Morbucks._

_She had frizzy curly auburn hair fashioned into two large puff balls atop her head, a few loose curls looping around her freckled face, her coal black eyes buried under heavy layers of gold mascara._

_All three of us groaned, "What do you want, Princess?"._

_Flocked by two other snooty, and really ditzy, girls, Princess sneered at us. "Oh nothing, I'm just gracing my dazzling presence all over this fortunate school!". _

_One of her posse nodded fervently, "Yeah, you should be thankful that Princess is even allowing you to become inspired!"._

_My friends and I shared a look, our eyebrows raised._

"_Please Princess, do all of us a favor and just go bother your boy-toy-of-the-day!" Cathlin grunted, her sister nodding her head at what she said. "You're giving us a migraine!"._

"_At least I __**have**__ a boyfriend!" Princess huffed indignantly, placing a hand on her chest oh-so dramatically, her golden manicure sparkling. "You three on the other hand, especially pinky over here, would die a poor ugly old maid!"._

_I simply rolled my eyes. Really, even Bubbles, who is the sweetest and kindest little girl in the whole world, could do a better job of insulting._

_Cathlin and Caitlin both rolled their eyes, taking a look behind me, and promptly widening their eyes._

_Caitlin's soft voice was almost unheard as she pointed behind me, "Are you sure about that, Princess?..."._

_At the same time as Princess and her posse, I turned around and was stunned._

_There, leaning on the hood of the sleek red Lamborghini Reventon parked outside the school gates, was Brick, hands hidden inside his pants pockets as his half-lidded red eyes boredly stared at the sky._

_What was he doing here!?_

_All the girls at Diamond Academy were blushing, gaping, and drooling, none more so than the bane of my foreign exchange life and her ditzy posse._

_Wide-eyed, I could only blink and stare as Brick finally noticed me standing by the school gates, smirking as he held out his index finger and coolly gestured me to come to him._

"_Does he mean you?!" One of the snooty ditzy posse almost choked, as Princess herself was screeching unbearably._

_Cathlin whistled as Caitlin smiled, the former pushing me towards the red-haired mystery that is Brick. _

"_You can give us the details later, right now, go get him, girl!"_

_Sighing, I rolled my pink eyes as I made my way towards him, consciously fixing my uniform as discreetly as possible. Deciding that I looked alright, wearing a white and gray jacket with a long-sleeved white shirt underneath, a grey necktie, a white thigh-high skirt, and black pumps, I faced him._

"_Brick?"_

"_Hm?" He actually looked amused as his ruby red eyes slowly stared at me up and down._

_I fought hard to restrain my blush._

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_Picking you up, of course." He nonchalantly replied, the doors of his luxurious and expensive car automatically opening, he winked at me. "Get in, babe."._

"_Brick!" I blushed, staring at him incredulously. "How did you even __**know**__ that I go to this school?!"._

"_Connections, Bloss. Connections." Brick lightly shook his head, tone as if talking to a mere child. _

_I twitched. "Brick!"._

"_But seriously, Bloss, get in." His intense red eyes bore deep into my own pink eyes. "Or do I have to __**make**__ you?"._

_Brick's deep voice scared me._

_Needless to say, I quickly got in, giving the car's owner a suspicious stare, setting my rose-colored purse beside me as I sat on the lush black leather seat. Sneaking a glance to my right, I saw Cathlin giving me a thumbs up, Caitlin offering an encouraging smile, and a fuming Princess, along with her gaping posse._

_Brick got in the driver's seat and started the car, its powerful engine purring as the tinted windows rolled upwards. We were at one of Italy's highways within seconds._

_Silence reigned inside the car, Brick actually being an expert driver, coolly steering with his left hand, his right elbow leaning on the headrest of my seat and his index finger on his right temple._

_As much as being the most patient of the Utonium sisters, I couldn't take it anymore._

"_Brick, where are you kidnapping me?"_

_The red head merely turned his half-lidded eyes to me._

"_Brick!" I shrieked, wide-eyed as quickly I placed my palm to his cheek, intent on turning his face back to the front. "Eyes in front!". I looked at the car's meter, we were going at full speed, our surroundings rapidly blurring._

_He merely chuckled, his warm fingers grasping my cool hand, firmly holding it locked to his cheek._

_His eyes still didn't leave my face._

"_Brick!" I was frantic now, "At least slow down!"._

_His lips were curling into his signature smirk. "Relax, Blossy. If my driving was as terrible as you thought, don't you think we'd have crashed by now?"._

_I was actually silenced, my pink eyes still wide as I glanced at the steadily decreasing meter and looked outside through the tinted windows. Our surroundings were clear again, the car slowing down. Nothing but a perfectly straight course._

"…_Dio...quasimi ha dato unaheartattack!..." I was breathless, so out of it that I had spoken in perfect Italian, as he softly replied, red eyes downcast, "Mi dispiace…"._

_I did nothing but sit back quietly on my seat, my left hand still pressed on this unbelievable guy's cheek. Thankfully, he lifted his eyes away from my shocked face and back onto the road as silence reigned in the car once more._

_It was only a second that I realized that he hadn't answered my question._

_He didn't not answer the question, he completely __**avoided**__ it._

_He had intentionally distracted me._

_Bastard._

_But what bothered me the most was his extreme recklessness._

_He was cool under pressure, in fact, __**too**__ cool._

_It was as if he was used to these kinds of things._

_Does he not fear death?_

_I bit my lip._

_Does he fear anything at all?_

_Composing myself, my heart now calm, I was about to ask him the same question again, when he suddenly stopped the car._

_I looked out the car's tinted windows to see just where we had parked._

…

_I twitched, all fear and nervousness now gone and replaced by irritation and annoyance._

_This guy was __**unbelievable**__._

"…_Brick?"_

"_Mm?"_

"_Why did the car ride take so long?"_

"_That's because we took the scenic route."_

"_And may I ask why, you took the long, scenic route when we could have taken the faster, shorter route to __**my hotel**__!?"_

_He merely tilted his head and hummed, his trademark smirk on his lips._

"_No, you may not."_

_I actually glared at him._

_I was stressed, anxious, nervous, and so close to snapping that I forcefully banged the car's door open, not caring that it was worth billions._

_I actually hoped that the paintjob had scratched._

_As if reading my mind, and intentions, Brick merely leaned his cheek on the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on the steering wheel. "Missile proof."._

"_Aargh!" He actually dared to look amused!_

_He even chuckled!_

_I angrily grabbed my purse and stormed off, not bothering to slam the car door._

_I swore I heard laughing behind me._

_What I did slam, however, was the door to my hotel room._

_Perhaps a trip to the nearest mall would soothe my nerves…_

* * *

"Great. Just great." Buttercup, having calmed down greatly, groaned into her hands. "We have to go to the mall!?".

She hated shopping.

Bubbles sent her black haired elder sister a concerned look, in her manicured hands was the ever-so familiar pink envelope that Bunny and she found hidden inside a beautiful grand piano inside the music hall.

"Buttercup, are you alright?"

"Peachy." The black haired girl sighed, shaking her head. She was about to say more, when her green phone suddenly vibrated.

"What?!" Buttercup answered with a lot more force than necessary, making Bubbles frown and Bunny flinch.

Buttercup was scary at times.

A familiar deep voice chuckled, "Anxious aren't you, Butterfly?".

Buttercup screamed.

"BUTCH!?"

"Aw, you remember me!" She knew he was grinning, wherever he may be. "I'm touched, Buttercakes!".

"Don't call me that!" Buttercup growled out, stress building anew. "And how the fuck did you get my number!?".

She never gave it to him, so how **did** he get her number?

Ignoring Bubble's reprimanding and questioning look, she listened as Butch chuckled. "Connections, babe. And language, cupcake, though I love how sexy you look when angry, save it for our date, okay?".

Her sisters stared at her, both sporting shocked expressions.

"Aargh!"

Butch, however, continued as if he was uninterrupted.

"I'll pick you up at your hotel tomorrow three hours before noon."

"How did you-"

"As I said, connections." Butch's tone was nonchalant. "I'll be borrowing you for the whole day, so better be prepared Butterbabe.".

Gritting her teeth, Buttercup was about to end the call when Butch spoke up.

"Oh, and Butterfly?"

"…"

"Wear something **sexy**."

And he abruptly hung up.

Bubbles had to quickly snatch her sister's green phone away before its owner could destroy it.

Buttercup turned around, about to shout out loud, when she saw the stern look on Bubble's face.

"Explain."

All of them knew her past.

Buttercup bit her lip, hesitating.

"Buttercup…"

It was the concerned look on Bunny's face that broke her.

"Alright, it's all because…"

And she spilled.

Buttercup laid down on the floor after confessing everything, groaning.

"Buttercup…" Bunny stared at her elder sister in concern. "You don't have to do this, you know…".

Buttercup shook her head.

"Go see a doctor, Bunny."

Buttercup knew that they all knew that she was completely trapped.

"What bothers me is that how did he get your number?" Bubbles spoke up, a hard look of contemplation on her beautiful face.

"It's just like with Blossom…" The youngest of them uttered, "With 'mystery man', I mean…".

"Bunny's right." Bubbles nodded, frowning. "I don't like this…".

Bunny puffed out her cheeks, "I don't trust them…".

"Us either." Buttercup grumbled from the ground, raising her arm in agreement.

"Alright, here's what we'll do," Bubbles sighed. Blossom made it look so easy. "Bunny and I'll go to the mall while Buttercup, you go on your date.".

Buttercup recognized that tone. It was Blossom's 'commander and the leader' tone. She just nodded, albeit heavily scowling.

"Try to find out as much as you can about this Butch guy, okay?"

"Fine."

Bunny tried to lighten up the tense atmosphere, she was so not used to it. She liked her surroundings calm, thank you very much.

"You know, this makes me feel like not only a treasure hunter, but also a spy!..."

Bubbles slightly grinned, and even Buttercup cracked a small smile, raising a brow.

"Oooh, let's get code-names!" Bunny jumped, giddy.

"Bunny?"

"Yeah?"

"Seriously. Go see a doctor."

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS: **

**Dio...quasimi ha dato unaheartattack (God... you nearly gave me a heartattack)**

**Mi dispiace (I'm sorry)**

* * *

**Me: I'm sure you've seen the pattern *wink*, now it's Buttercup's turn…**

**It's unfair, really, since hers is more developed than her sisters'…**

**And yes, the Golden University and Quattron Academy are completely made up.**

**I fail at names.**

**And I don't have much knowledge at basketball and cars, so just bear with me…**

* * *

***SPOILER***

**QUATTRO-n Academy.**

**Well, maybe not spoilers, more like hints and clues?...**


	5. IV

The night sky of Italy brought out the magnificent stars even more, twinkling as the night lights illuminated a figure standing inside his luxurious hotel room, looking at the marvelous view of one the bustling cities of Italy through the room's gigantic clear glass windows that made up the entire wall he was facing.

He stared at the breathtaking view of the busy city at night, his spiky darker-than-black hair damp as little water droplets drip onto the lush carpet floor, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, showing his bare muscled chest, a green towel unevenly draped over his head.

"_Yo, Blondie!"_

_Twitching, said blond guy turned around to face the taller black haired guy who had just slammed the ivory wooden double doors to his lavish blue living room. He hoped the doors didn't break, like the last time the black haired guy visited. This was one of his favorite houses too._

"_What do you want, Butch?"_

_The devilishly handsome guy grinned, displaying teeth that looked almost like fangs, quickly tossing something to the blond. _

_Which he did._

_The smaller of the two stared at the portrait he currently held in his left hand, an eyebrow raised._

_It was of a tall, gorgeous, curvaceous girl, her scowl only adding to her beauty. She had layered silky black locks, her messy bangs partly covering her peridot green eyes radiating power, much like his own black haired intruder who was standing in front of him._

"…_This had better not be another 'blind date'."_

_Butch scoffed, "You wish! This one's mine."._

_The blond raised his head to look at his black haired intruder, "Then what's this picture for?"._

"_Reference." Butch nonchalantly replied, boredly examining an expensive-looking vase. "I want you to 'research' her, check her out. You __**are**__ the expert after all, aren't cha, Boomer?"._

_He, however, was surprised as Boomer groaned loudly. "__**Another**__ one?!"._

_Not the reaction he was expecting._

"_What the hell do you mean by 'another one'?" Butch furrowed his brows, looking at the complaining blond._

_Boomer gave him an annoyed look, "Beast just contacted me earlier and gave me a photo of a brunette with similiar features."._

_Butch furrowed his brows deeper. "How earlier?"._

"_Two hours before you unsuccessfully, thankfully, tried to break my doors down."_

"_Bah! Right now, you'd better do mine first." Butch stated as if he heard nothing, nonchalantly waving a hand as he began to play with the expensive fragile vase, throwing it up in the air as Boomer watched it like a protective hawk. If it so much as have one tiny little crack, he was going to dent one of his older brother's prized cars. _

"_And why, pray tell, would I do that?" Boomer asked, annoyed, as he quickly snatched back the blue porcelain vase while it was up high in the air._

"_Because," Butch found another fragile vase to play with. "I'm taking her out on a date tomorrow and I need her background info!"._

_Boomer looked exasperated, but nodded nonetheless, holding up his hand for the vase Butch was playing with._

_He, along with his brothers, learned to be cautious about anything and everything, even since birth._

_You could never really be too sure._

_And with their lives, even the smallest mistake could cost them their lives._

"_Fine, I'll have it sent to you later."_

"_Great!" Butch grinned, spinning the smaller vase on two of his fingers before uncaringly throwing it back to its display stand, the vase landing shakily before steadying as Boomer nearly got a heart attack. "I owe ya, lil' bro!"._

"_That's what you said the last time you asked me to check one of your many now-ex-girlfriends…" Boomer grumbled, "Remember Monica?"._

"_Who?"_

"_Exactly!"_

Smirking, Butch touched his dark green phone, which was placed right next to a small pile of papers and a photo of a scowling black haired girl, waiting a few seconds for the call to connect.

A small 'click' was heard, followed by a familiar deep, impassive voice.

"What?"

"I've decided to collect one of your favors." Butch replied, plopping down on the black leather sofa, grabbing one of the papers laid at the green glass table in front of him.

"It better not be humiliating."

"Oh, relax." Butch rolled his eyes, honestly, that's what they always say when he collects a favor! "It's a really simple and easy job.".

"Send me the **full** Details."

Butch rolled his eyes again, doesn't anyone ever trust him anymore?

"Later, it's just basically only a guarding mission."

It was silent for a few seconds before the voice deadpanned, "…I refuse to be a third wheel to another date-that-will-surely-result-in-another-one-night-stand.".

If he wasn't already used to it, Butch would've choked.

"You'll be merely observing from a distance, not much different than your usual covert operations!"

"And watch you and girl-of-the-week shove your tongues down on each other's throats?" The voice monotonously snarked. "No thanks.".

Butch face-palmed, this was so like his youngest sibling. Thankfully, he was used to him.

"Come on, Beast!" Butch was practically groaning. "I can't concentrate with this one!".

"She totally distracts you?" He could've sworn he heard a small surprise mixed in with Beast's uncaring tone.

"It takes all of my willpower to look away from her."

"…" Beast was silent for a few seconds, the sound of smooth driving clearly heard on the background as Butch knew his younger brother was just coming home from another one of his missions. "…When?".

"Tomorrow, 3'12n."

"…Fine." Beast, even when sighing, still sounded impassive. "But I'm leaving as soon as you two enter the **same** hotel.".

Butch twitched and abruptly ended the call.

* * *

"If she totally distracts you…" Beast murmured as his older brother abruptly ended the call, speeding through the empty highway forests at night in his sleek black convertible. "Then why date her in the first place?...".

* * *

**RETRACING STEPS**

* * *

"No."

Buttercup crossed her arms as she attempted to glare a hole through the little black dress her blonde sister was holding in front of her.

"But, Buttercup!" Bubbles pouted, "You'll look really good in it!".

Bunny didn't look up from her magazine as she lay lazily on her hotel bed next to the large glass windows, "And don't forget that you need to dress sexy.".

"Sexy, my ass!" Buttercup scowled, kicking away a pile of similar dresses that her fashion-obsessed sister scattered all over the carpeted floor in an attempt to find the 'perfect date outfit'. "I will never wear that eyesore! And besides, I bet that he forgot all about the date, anyway!"

Bunny slowly flipped the magazine page, tone nonchalant. "That's not what the dark green Koenigsegg Agera parked outside our hotel says.".

Buttercup cursed, half because the current top bane of her life was already here, and half because said current bane has a really **nice** car.

Out of all of them, Buttercup was the sister to approach when the topic was about cars.

"Oh no, we're out of time!" Bubbles gasped, chucking a pile of clothes into her grumbling black haired sister's arms, and forcefully shoving Buttercup into the spacious bathroom. "And I'm not letting you out until you're fully dressed!".

Buttercup let out a loud fiery yell, and her two sisters were thankful that their hotel room was soundproof.

Minutes later, after several banging on the wooden door and shouts and yells and curses, Buttercup kicked the bathroom door open with a loud bang, startling both her sisters.

What startled them even more was what she was currently wearing.

Buttercup scowled, cheeks lightly blushing of embarrassment, as she stood in front of her wide-eyed sisters, wearing a black body-hugging halter dress that ended at her thighs and showed off her well-defined curves and a good amount of her cleavage. The two dangerously high slits at the sides was **not** helping.

Bubbles squealed as Bunny grinned, "Great job sis, you'll definitely freeze him!".

Buttercup scowled as Bubbles brightened up, "Wait! You're missing something…".

Bubbles circled the large room and came back, quickly placing a pair of black high-heeled stilettos on Buttercup's feet (with a lot of difficulty considering that it's **Buttercup**) and handing the scowling girl her favorite pair of black shades. "There, perfect!" Bubbles grinned, stepping back to admire her work.

Bunny whistled, throwing Buttercup a small black chain purse which she expertly caught in one hand. "Forget about freezing him, you'll kill him for sure, BC!".

"These heels are killing **me**!..." Buttercup consciously fiddled with the dress, futilely sliding down the hem, as she grumbled. "You guys owe me big time!".

"Sure, sure." Bunny nonchalantly waved her hand in a 'shooing' motion as Bubbles cheerfully nodded. "Just make sure to go back to **our** hotel and not another, okay, sis?".

"AARGH, BUNNY!"

"Have fun!" Bubbles cheered as she pushed a furious Buttercup out the door, where Butch stood in front of, about to either knock or open it himself. The door slammed shut, leaving the two to stare at each other, one in surprise and anger, the other in shock and lust.

The worst part, according to Buttercup, was that they were so close, their bodies were practically touching. And that their closeness gave Butch a pretty good bird's eye view of her boobs.

She was gonna kill Bubbles later.

Right after she murders the blushing pervert first, preferably somewhere inconspicuous.

"What the hell are you staring at?" Buttercup grunted, forcefully shoving her practically drooling date away. "Hurry up, I wanna get this torture over with!". She stomped off ahead to where the shiny dark green expensive beautiful monstrosity that was her date's car was parked.

Butch blinked, and then smirked devilishly.

Oh, this was gonna be so much fun.

* * *

Bubbles and Bunny entered the nearest mall, which, unfortunately for them, was over ten stories tall and was as big as an international airport.

"…Fuck."

"Bunny!" Bubbles gasped, turning her head to give a reprimanding look to her younger sister.

Bunny shrugged, "What? That's what Buttercup would've said, and I know you know that we need to feel her presence with us. …".

"Still!"

Bunny pulled the hood of her purple jacket up and popped a blueberry gum onto her mouth, "We'd better start searching in all the places Blossom would go to first. Dibs on her favorite restaurants!".

And with that, Bunny dashed off, leaving a sighing and partly ticked Bubbles.

She had wanted to browse through the shops, but her younger sister had left the bookstores to her.

Pouting, Bubbles checked the nearest bookstore first, her aquamarine blue eyes lazily browsing the books on display.

Grabbing a random book as she stood near the store's entrance (and exit), her eyes caught sight of a running crowd.

Curious, she decided to follow them and placed the book she grabbed back and walked out the store. She followed the crowd into the mall's amphitheater, where she was surprised to find a large crowd watching and listening to a piano recital. Entranced by the sweet melody and soft ambiance the wonderful music was offering, Bubbles decided to take a seat near the front rows, curious about who the talented pianist was. He was a cute brown haired guy, looking about to be a year older than her, eyes closed as he performed.

It was when he opened his eyes that Bubbles gasped, wide-eyed and shocked as she stared at sapphire blue eyes, eyes that were the color of water.

He was the guy at the boardwalk shop!

Bubbles, face blushing, looked around the amphitheater to calm herself. The guy had an effect on her, that's for sure.

It was then that Bubbles recognized just where she was sitting.

It was the amphitheater that Blossom had a grand piano recital, the event that she had written in one of the few letters she had sent to her sisters during her stay in Italy. Bubbles looked at the grand piano in front of the large stage, the one currently being played by the cute brown haired guy.

She pursed her lips.

Staring at the cute pianist one more time, she came to a really hard decision.

Boys later, journal page hunt now.

* * *

Buttercup frowned as she stared at the blurring surroundings from the tinted windows of the sleek dark green Koenigsegg Agera, which, she admit, was a real splendor.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Too bad she couldn't say the same for its owner.

Buttercup merely rolled her eyes, facing away from the cocky black haired guy driving the luxurious car she was riding on.

"But not as beautiful as you, though." Butch smirked, emerald green eyes peering at her from behind black shades.

"Right," She drawled, "And how many times has that line worked?".

"Fiesty, aren't you?" He chuckled, the dark green car coming to a halt, the doors automatically opening as he stepped out.

Buttercup peered outside and grunted.

"A movie? Really?" She raised a brow as her date offered her a hand.

Naturally, she ignored it.

"Hey," Butch shrugged, "I don't know what your ideal date is, you're practically an enigma to me.". "Unless, you would like for us to really get to know each other better?" He grinned at her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Buttercup smacked him, hard.

Grabbing themselves two good seats on the middle aisle, Buttercup stared blankly at the large screen playing the start of the movie.

"A horror? Really?"

Butch once again shrugged, nonchalantly popping a piece of popcorn in his mouth.

Buttercup scoffed, crossing her arms. "Oh come on, it's not even that scary! And the 'special' effects aren't even that realistic!".

Butch turned his head to stare at her, wide-eyed, before turning back to the screen, a bored look on his face as he nodded. "Yeah, you're right. The special effects suck.".

"The whole movie sucks." Buttercup blatantly stated, "I mean, why label it a mystery when we all know that the protagonist's best friend is the killer!".

A chorus of groans from the other movie watchers was heard throughout the theater as Butch nodded.

"Yeah, for revenge for stealing her guy."

"Naturally." Buttercup took a sip of her lime soda as she and her date continued to loudly degrade the movie they were watching.

The guy seated in front of them couldn't take it anymore and turned his head around to reprimand the two, when he caught sight of what was behind the black haired couple.

Dozens of black-clothed men armed with black masks and various guns hung from the ceiling, surrounding the whole theater. Behind the couple was a brown haired young man seated casually, holding a black rifle pointing straight at the guy's wide-eyed face.

Beast, eyes hidden behind his sleek purple shades, raised a brow as if asking, 'What were you gonna say?'.

Gulping, the guy immediately turned back around and nervously continued watching the movie, sweating heavily as he shook.

Buttercup raised a brow as Butch smirked, Beast behind them impassively taking a drink of his soda.

Grape, his favorite.

It seems that the rest of the crowd took notice of their 'extra guests' and mirrored the tense guy, that is, all except for Buttercup.

She merely yawned, "Boring. How long is this stupid movie gonna last?".

Butch popped another piece of popcorn in his mouth.

"About three more hours."

Buttercup groaned exasperatedly onto her hands.

Butch merely offered the bucket of popcorn to his muttering date, "Popcorn?".

"…Is it buttered?"

"Naturally."

"…Gimme some of that."

Continuing to destroy the movie with their words all throughout the movie, Butch and Buttercup walked out of the theater with smirks on their faces, followed closely by Beast, who coolly threw his empty soda cup into a nearby thrash can without ever looking away from the couple he was 'guarding'.

As the couple got in the dark green monster his older brother call a car, Beast jumped in his midnight purple motorcycle, instantly speeding away to his next location.

* * *

Bubbles waited until the recital was over, adding another hour or so just to make sure she was all alone in the amphitheater, before she made her move.

Going up the stage, she thoroughly searched the black grand piano for the familiar pink envelope, but found nothing.

Sighing, Bubbles pouted.

She sat on the seat, only for her to suddenly stand back up again.

She checked her feet, her right foot was higher than the left. Smiling, Bubbles bent down and checked the wooden floorboards of the stage. To her delight, one of the floorboards was loose and she found a pink folded note inside.

Tucking it safely into the pocket of her white pants pocket, she turned around to leave, only to stop and freeze.

Aquamarine blue eyes stared at sapphire blue eyes.

"W-what are you doing here?!" Bubbles squeaked, surprised.

The guy tilted his head cutely, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Shouldn't that be my line?".

"I-I just merely left something in here…" Bubbles thought hard to come up with a good excuse, her pupils looking at anywhere but his eyes.

"And so you came back to get it?"

Bubbles nodded, "Yes!".

"To get something you left?"

She nodded again. "Mhm."

"On the stage?"

Bubbles froze.

"Ah…" She inwardly cursed, blushing, suddenly finding her dark blue pumps very interesting. "Well…".

Bubbles looked up when she heard laughing, finding herself entranced at his bright grin. His laugh was infectious, finding herself smiling and giggling within seconds.

"I loved your recital…" Bubbles admitted shyly, cheeks sporting a light tint of pink. "Your playing was really spectacular!...".

The guy smiled, "Really?".

"Mhm!" Bubbles smiled. "Ah! I also wanted to thank you for helping me get my necklace!".

"So you remember!" The guy grinned brightly, "Really, it was no problem, I love to help!".

"Ah… you're so nice!" Bubbles giggled, the tense and awkward atmosphere slowly dissipating. "My name is Bubbles, by the way!".

The guy had a crooked smile on his cute face, "I'm Terzo.".

"So you're a professional pianist?" Bubbles tilted her head curiously.

Terzo nodded, "Mhm!".

"Wow…" Aquamarine blue eyes twinkled, "So young!...".

"I know…" Terzo nervously agreed, hand shyly rubbing the back of his neck.

Bubbles suddenly remembered exactly why she had come here in the first place, "Ah!".

Terzo watched her curiously.

"?"

"I have to go!" Bubbles announced, a hint of dejection in her tone.

"So soon?" Terzo whined childishly, making her giggle. He was funny! And she rather liked funny guys. "Could I at least get your number?".

She nodded, "Sure!".

Terzo nodded, quickly memorizing the blonde's phone number, "Can I call you later, Bubbles?...".

Bubbles giggled, opening the amphitheater's large double doors.

"Of course, silly! That's why I gave you my number, didn't I?"

* * *

He grinned, waving as he watched her leave.

She offered him one last dazzling smile before she left.

The amphitheater's large double doors closed.

His twinkling sapphire blue eyes suddenly dimmed.

He recognized her, she was really familiar.

His grin slowly faded as he knew that he was going to have to keep a close eye on her.

Her face had some similar features with two familiar girls.

Her face had some similar features with the two familiar girls that his two brothers had requested his assistance with.

This was one of the times he hated having a photographic memory.

* * *

Beast sat cross-legged atop a nearby building, one that was directly in front of the high-class five-star restaurant his older brother planned to take his date out into, slowly loading his black sniper rifle. A handful of his best men were scattered around other nearby buildings, closely monitoring the surrounding area like a hawk. Minerva, his top assassin and right-hand… woman… was at the side, idly setting up more rifles and tuning the ones that were already set up.

'The things I do for my family…' He boredly thought, dark purple eyes half-lidded as he suddenly checked the rifle, hands gripping the gun in a firing position upwards to the sky, startling his men as the abrupt 'clack' resonated throughout their area. He then lowered the gun down and returned to reloading it, face impassive all the while.

His men looked uneasily at him while Minerva just giggled to herself, adjusting one of the guns' scope rings.

Really, her boss was **still** just a child, after all.

Beast finally finished reloading when his ears twitched a bit. He swiftly turned around and sharply pointed the rifle at the approaching dark green Koenigsegg Agera, following the car's movements exactly with his gun, an air of professionalism around him. His sharper-than-average hearing and sight allowed him to excel in his work.

His men were suddenly reminded just why **he** was the undisputed head of their division, and how they came to wordlessly obey an impassive 17 year old kid.

Minerva smirked, already used to her young boss' abrupt antics and movements, waking the men from their gaping stupor.

Beast silently watched his target, inwardly rolling his eyes as his practically drooling older brother oh-so blatantly kept on staring at the chest of the annoyed black haired date of his.

'Note to self: Get Butch a big pile of handkerchiefs for his birthday.'

A sudden soft gust of the wind ruffled his already-messy coffee locks, the thick purple collar of his jacket made his nose twitch as Minerva rolled her navy blue eyes. Her young boss really loved to wear fur. Fake fur, that is, after all, he loved animals just as much as he loved wearing fur at any possible time.

Beast's violet phone suddenly vibrated, its owner lazily reaching out a hand to touch it, answering a call from his other older brother as he placed his purple-tinted black shades above his head, the wind still ruffling his messy brown hair.

"…"

"Beast." His blonde brother blatantly stated, his voice annoyed and irritated, with a hint of… dejection?

"…"

"I've got Intel…"

Beast recognized that tone, "Which one?" _Good or Bad?_

"Both."

"…"

"It's about your target, 'Brown'.".

That got his attention.

"Good news: I've got some information on her." Boomer's voice took on a darker tone. "Bad news: I've got **some** information on her.". _I found only little information, barely enough for both of our likings. _

Beast yawned, "How much?".

The irritation on his older brother's tone was noticeable. "Not even the full basics! All I've got is her name, age, personality, and her current hotel location, the rest are total blank!".

Beast was more alert now.

Boomer was the absolute best of the best in finding out information and digging up dirt. All he needs is what you look like, and he'd find out your deepest, darkest secrets within seconds. The worst and unsettling part is, that only **you** would know about those deepest, darkest secrets. The means, methods, and ways that he used to turn you inside out were known only to him. That, and added by his photographic memory and natural skill of correctly reading a person just by looking at him, made him a truly fearsome enemy.

So when Boomer reported, with blatant irascibility that was uncharacteristic of him but expected as he had never failed to completely know a person before, that he got practically nothing on this girl, it set off alarms inside Beast's head.

"Did you try Rosso's network?" Beast asked with narrowed eyes, yet still managed to keep a firm eye out on his other older brother's date.

He could hear Boomer sigh frustratedly, "Yes, and still nothing!".

Beast atypically frowned, hard.

Rosso's Intel network and links were the complete best of the best, absolutely no information could ever escape him. He was, after all, the head of their family's intelligence division. This news, or lack of, just worsened their developing situation.

"Tch. …"

He pulled the trigger on his rifle with more force than necessary, abruptly ending the life of the lingering assassin by the corner who was clothed in the shadows with a single powerful shot to the heart.

His men edged away from him, feeling their young boss tensing slowly.

They did not want to die, thank you very much.

"I've sent my men to work deeper…" Boomer interrupted Beast's thoughts, the violet phone's owner almost forgetting that the call hadn't ended yet.

"Let me guess," Beast rolled his eyes as he said in a mocking tone, "But still no progress. …".

"Watch it." Boomer uncharacteristically snapped, surprising even Beast. He was again reminded that he was the youngest and weakest of them four.

"I'll let you know if I have any updates, but for now I'll send you what I've found out so far."

And he ended the call.

Beast narrowed his eyes, as much as he wanted to go to where the brown haired girl currently was, he couldn't.

Not without authorization.

Not without **his** authorization.

* * *

Buttercup twitched, staring at the fancy menu laid in front of her containing the fancy choices that the fancy five-star restaurant her date led her into.

Every single item featured edible gold, for God's sake!

She didn't dare to look at the prices. Just the thought of the number of zeroes scared her. She knew her date was loaded, if his car was anything to be judged by, but being able to afford to take her out here?

She wondered who exactly was richer, him or her eldest sister, whose golden gift lay inside her small purse.

"…"

"I'll have the Lobster Fra Diavlo with the White Alba Truffle sauce and the Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva." Butch nonchalantly ordered, and the waitress sent to their table had to fight a faint and a swoon with all her might. Butch's voice was extremely mesmerizing.

Butch looked up at his date, "And you, my dear?".

His date twitched, frowning.

"…" Buttercup sighed as closed her golden menu, "I'll have the same.".

The waitress nodded and left, not-so subtly winking flirtily to Butch as she turned around. He smirked and winked back.

'And here I thought they were all about professionalism…' Buttercup rolled her eyes, taking in the scenic view the incredibly high-class restaurant has to offer. She didn't know why, but she felt annoyed.

"…You know," Butch casually stated, leaning back onto the lush leather seats, "This is usually the part where the boy and the girl talk and get to know each other better.".

"Not if the girl doesn't want to talk." Buttercup muttered as a reply, still not facing her date.

"And why doesn't the girl want to talk?" Butch playfully asked, emerald green eyes glinting. "Could it be… that you're jealous of our waitress?".

Buttercup scoffed, turning her head towards him as she glared. "Yeah right, why would I be jealous of a blonde airhead?".

Butch just grinned, "Oh c'mon, Butterfly, you know I only have eyes for you!".

"Don't call me that!" Buttercup opened her mouth to speak, when she suddenly stopped.

Eyes widening, she turned towards the glass windows to their left, searching the surrounding area.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Butch asked, calmly taking a sip of his expensive red wine.

"Don't play dumb," Buttercup stared at him with a serious face. "I know you heard that!".

"Heard what?"

"That sound mere seconds ago!"

"What sound?"

Buttercup hesitated a bit, "I don't know, but it sounded like a… gunshot, or something…".

"…You need me to drive you to a therapist, Buttercakes?"

"Shut up!" Buttercup scowled, crossing her arms as she sported a light blush on her cheeks, looking back out the large glass windows.

She completely missed the narrowed eyes Butch gave her as their waitress came back with their orders.

* * *

Safely driving her back to her hotel, Buttercup grunted as she stepped out the luxurious car, emitting a dark green glow in the late night atmosphere.

"You forgot something, Butterscotch."

Buttercup twitched and turned around, facing her date, who was coolly leaning on his car with his arms crossed.

"What?"

Butch smirked, showing sharp fang-like teeth.

"This."

And he abruptly grabbed her wrist and smashed their lips together.

It seemed like minutes before Buttercup was knocked out of her shocked state, lifting her free hand to slap his face, but Butch merely held out his free arm to block her attempt.

Finally releasing her, Buttercup screamed as she stormed back into her hotel, Butch not failing to notice the scarlet tint of her cheeks.

"Thanks for the goodnight kiss, Butterbabe!"

"AAARGH!"

He chuckled.

Yet, his deep emerald green eyes were narrowed.

For a girl, and for a human, she hits hard.

And he should know.

He took a quick look at where he knew his youngest brother was currently hidden, watching them from afar, before going back in his precious car.

* * *

Buttercup slammed the door to their hotel room open, startling her two lounging sisters.

"I know, I know," Bunny sighed before Buttercup could utter a word. "Shut up and read.".

* * *

_**Friday, April 12th**_

_I was right._

_A trip to the nearest mall did calm me down. I'm currently in one of the mall's spacious bookstores, reading a random piano sheet music book I picked out as I sat comfortably in a white beanbag chair on the corner. I had to watch how I sat though, as I was in a sleepy rush and dressed in the first thing I laid my hands on, which unfortunately was a peach spaghetti strap dress that flowed to my knees in long silky ruffles that was as light as feathers and a pair of silver stilettos. I must have been more out of it than I thought, and was thinking too deeply that I hadn't noticed what I was exactly wearing until I was already at the mall! I was too tired to style my hair and so it flowed down in soft waves that framed my face, my usual bed-hair which Bubbles often pouted that I looked like I had just visited a salon, which I highly doubted.  
_

"_Well, don't you look divine today."_

_I immediately recognized that deep voice._

"_Brick?!" I looked up from my book and into his smirking face. I had to fight a blush as he stared at me up and down. "What are you doing here?"._

"_What do you think I'm doing here?" Brick tilted his head towards a shelf of books, "Besides that, what are __**you**__ doing here? Dressed like that, I mean."._

_I blushed, raising my arm for him to take hold as he helped me up. "I was in a hurry, okay?"._

"_Well, you are naturally beautiful…" Brick hummed, playing with a lock of my hair as I placed my book back on the shelf. "Hmm…"._

_Turning around, I stared at his deep red eyes as he was finishing a call, holding a lock of my orange-red hair in one hand and his sleek red phone in the other. Placing his phone back in his pants pocket, he turned to face me._

_He suddenly smirked._

_And I knew that he was up to no good._

_Grabbing my wrist, he suddenly and quickly dragged me out the bookstore, and across over half the entire mall, which was as big as an airport!_

_I was panting when we finally stopped, as he had forced me to run, in high heels no less!_

_I looked up, it was the backstage of a large amphitheater as we had entered in the back entrance._

"_Brick?"_

"_Shh." He softly murmured, leading me to the center of the stage where a beautiful black grand piano stood. Sitting me in the cushioned seat, he oh-so gracefully leaped off the stage and sat at the front center seat, directly in front of me._

_He snapped his fingers and the amphitheater's lights lit on._

_Blinded for a second, I had to strain my eyes twice._

_First to adjust my sight._

_Second to make sure that the crowded amphitheater full of differing spectators wasn't just a hallucination._

'_Brick!' I inwardly screamed, trying hard to compose myself in front of millions of eyes. Brick's red ones urged me to turn around and play._

_Like hell I will! _

_I only did as he wanted as I did not want to be made a fool out of, that damn sly manipulator!_

_Taking a deep breath, I calmed my mind, flexing my fingers a bit as I closed my eyes._

_I decided to play my favorite song, Beethoven's Fur Elise._

_As soon as I started to play, everything was drowned out, it was only me and the sweet music, but I oddly felt as if someone else was with me though. And I had a feeling as to whom._

_Reaching the end of the piece, I smiled as soon as I pressed the final key, the final note._

_Imagine my surprise, and delight, as my eyes were forcefully opened by the loud applause, facing the audience who was currently giving me a standing ovation._

_I blushed, and stole a peek at Brick._

_He just sat there, legs crossed, gently clapping as his face held his typical smirk and a look of… pride and adoration?_

_Needless to say, my blush intensified as I quickly stood up, bowed, and made my leave, Brick standing up to follow me from the corner of my eyes._

_Once we were safely at his car, as he had (again) driven me back to my hotel, did I start screaming._

"_Brick!" I stared at him as we drove on the highways, "I can't believe you made me do that!"._

_He only looked amused, "Well, it was such a waste of your divine appearance if you merely spent it on the bookstore, reading all day."._

"_Still!" I nervously fiddled with the flowy hems of my dress, not quite calming down yet._

"_Well, aren't you glad that I did, though?" Brick smirked, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes._

_I could not reply._

_Somewhere inside me, I was glad that he did._

_And I knew that he knew it too._

_"By the way, this counts as our first date."_

_He just had to open his mouth._

_I rolled my eyes, playfully slapping him. Really, I was currently not in the mood._

_Silence reigned in for a while, as we yet again took the long scenic route, and I suddenly remembered a question that had been bugging me for all week._

"_Brick?..."_

"_Mm?"_

"…_Why do you have a missile-proof car?"_

_It was a perfectly good question. _

_Just __**why**__ did he have a missile-proof car?_

_And also, another perfectly good question was just exactly **how** did he manage to organize that little recital earlier? It was perfectly impromptu and so sudden, that only a person with extreme connections and influence could have been able to do it._

_So how did he?_

"_Mmm…" He hummed slowly, drawing out the agonizing time I was kept waiting._

_I twitched, "Brick!"._

_He smiled as he suddenly halted his sleek red car, "We're here!"._

_I slammed the car's automatically-opened doors back close, refusing to budge from my seat._

"_Brick, answer me!"_

_He looked at me, "Is it wrong to want protection?"._

"_This is too much protection, though!" I narrowed my pink eyes at him. "I want you tell me exactly why!"._

"_Humans have a natural desire to fulfill their need of achieving their wants…" He softly murmured, head tilted, seemingly out of it as he gazed at me._

_My eyes eased up into a gentler stare._

"_Brick," I sighed, reaching a hand to touch his cheek, "You do realize how hard it is for me to place my trust in you if you won't place your trust in me. …"._

_We continued staring at each other, the silence enveloping the atmosphere._

"_Brick…" I lowered my hand with a soft sigh, opening the car's door. "I have to go."._

_Both legs were outside when I heard him softly whisper, "…You wouldn't believe me even if I told you anyway…"._

_I sent him a look, "Try me, Brick. Try me."._

_Closing the car door, I slowly walked to my hotel in deep thought._

_I sighed, pushing all thoughts of visiting Venice for later._

_Brick was a mystery I fully intended to solve._

* * *

Silence reigned in the room as Buttercup stepped out from the bathroom in a comfy pair of sweatpants and a black cotton shirt.

"So… do you two know how to swim?..."

Bunny really hated these kinds of atmosphere.

"Venice, huh?" Buttercup murmured, grabbing a bottle of water. "Just where in Venice, exactly?".

"What if it's in underwater?" Bubbles frowned, her long wavy golden hair let loose at night. "What'll we do?".

"That's impossible, Bubbles." Buttercup rolled her eyes, "It's just probably taped under a bridge, or something.".

"Well, we'll find out tomorrow anyway!" Bunny hopped onto her bed, feeling a new sense of excitement.

They were going to Venice!

Anything could happen!

* * *

_**Bunny Utonium**_

_**Age: 16**_

_**Current Location: XXX Hotel (Foreigner)**_

_**Family: Currently unknown, assumed to be either the youngest or an only child.**_

_**Personality: Cheerful/Cheery, Childish, Exuberant, Adventurous, Lively, Happy-go-lucky, in short, your complete opposite.**_

_**Additional Information: All other information is currently blank and unable to find out more, definitely suspicious.**_

_***Side note: Butch's current date is named Buttercup Utonium and has some similarities to the subject, unknown if these two are related or just a coincidence.**_

* * *

Beast lay on his hotel bed, the silk night-black sheets cooling his skin as the luxurious room's temperature dropped drastically at night and he was thankful that his stay was only a quick temporary one, as he clutched the thin paper tightly.

Half-lidded dark purple eyes were unaffected as his palm began to crumple the piece of paper.

'Definitely **not** a coincidence…'

The two girls looked too much alike.

That, and they were both staying at the same hotel.

Frowning deeply, he fingered the thin purple chain that hung from his neck, an ornate violet lock pendant attached to it. It was one of his most prized possessions, the last gift given to him by his sister before she had disappeared.

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS: **

**Rosso (Red)**

**Terzo (Third)**

* * *

**Me: Once again, thank you, my reviewers! (Yes, I have changed my pen name from 'Lieniblixx' to 'Chrysne')**

**This will be updated irregularly, depending on my inspiration, will to write, and (Ugh) school.**

**Yes, I will be finishing 'Inverse', so don't worry.**

**I'll update whatever story's got me inspired, and for now, it's this one.**

**Yeah, I don't know a thing about the various cuisines, what the greens ordered is made up from what little I've researched.**

**On the plus side, Retracing Steps finally has a cover!**

**(Not too good, I still can't draw too well -_-)**

**The girls, just how I picture them in this story…**

**Just a hint though, Chapter 2 (I) is full of foreshadowing…**


	6. V

_Where was she?..._

_She felt like she was floating…_

_Through her closed heavy eyelids, all Bunny could currently see was a suffocating black darkness, and yet she could hear voices from her strained ears._

"_Of you four, little Bunny is the most likely one to 'awaken' first, aside from you of course, Fiore."_

_The deep voice of a man stated with a tone of one who possesses a vast amount of intelligence._

"_And may I ask why do you think so?"_

_The placid reply of a girl who possesses the exact same tone._

_Bunny would have done something, anything really… if she could move her body._

_She currently felt numb all over, unable to feel, much less even move, at all._

_She breathed in, and was surprised to find that a breathing apparatus was attached to her face and she could feel little bubbles float above and around her._

_Was she underwater?!_

_Terrified, Bunny tried to calm herself down as she resorted to listening to the voices as she could do nothing else._

"_I suspect that the reason is because Bunny, being the youngest, still has underdeveloped cerebral capacities, and as such, the memory locks will be weaker than normal. As Bunny continues to grow, so does her mind continues to develop and improve, thereby pushing the memory locks' power to the limit and the possibility of her mind overriding the destabilized memory locks is not too farfetched."_

"_In short, she could forcefully break your memory locks when she's old enough."_

"_Precisely."_

_What?_

_What were they talking about?_

_More importantly, why do the voices sound… familiar?..._

"_Mmm…"_

"_Is something on your mind?"_

_Why… why does that voice sound familiar?!..._

_Bunny, feeling desperate and unnerved, tried to open her eyes, only to immediately close them right back._

_She was underwater and her eyes stung from the sudden contact with the bubbly liquid._

_Why was she underwater?..._

_The girl's tone sounded a bit cynical. "Just wondering why we need to be put inside an aquarium…"_

_What?!_

_Bunny pried open her eyes, ignoring the sting from the onslaught of water, and found that she was currently floating inside a large glass tank full of water._

_Frantic, she focused her blurry eyes on two unclear figures standing in front of her, who seemed to get closer and closer._

"_She's awake." The taller of the two shadows stated._

"_And panicking." The other figure, a definite young girl, drawled dryly and Bunny could feel hands softly patting her glass tank. "I told you this was unnecessary. The four of us can't breathe underwater after all."._

_The taller figure sighed._

_Bunny was shocked the water around her suddenly started bubbling and she felt oddly sleepy… no, they were trying to sedate her!_

_Bunny saw the girl turn towards her, the girl's face still blurred beyond recognition._

_The last thing she saw before giving in to unconsciousness was a pair of deep kunzite glowing against the darkness._

* * *

Bunny awoke sweating bullets, a cold hand pressed hard against her forehead, panting as her wide eyes darted all around their spacious hotel room frantically.

'W-What was t-that…?' She breathed, grasping the cool silk bed sheets tightly, desperately searching the inside of her camisole for her necklace and inwardly sighing of relief as she clutched the hanging pendant. '…I-It was… familiar… realistic…'.

"Bunny"

A sweet voice snapped her out of her reverie and she whipped her head around to find Bubbles staring worriedly at her.

"Are you alright?"

Bunny hurriedly plastered a smile on her face, Bubbles seeing it more of a grimace.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" Bunny answered, a hint of uncertainty in her cheerful tone. "I just had a nightmare, that's all!".

Bubbles only furrowed her eyebrows a bit more, "Are you sure?...".

Bunny nodded, lying back down on the cool sheets, "Yes, now you really should get to sleep, sis! We're leaving early tomorrow for Venice after all!".

Mumbling a quick 'Goodnight', the brunette promptly got back to sleep, lying sideways, back facing her older sister.

Bubbles wasn't fooled.

The Blonde continued to watch her youngest sister with concerned and worried eyes.

Bunny's terrified scream was loud enough to cause an earthquake.

Bunny should have known not to lie to her, as it was nearly impossible to hide from Bubbles' eyes.

It made Bubbles all the more curious.

Bubbles' eyes sees everything, as the sisters often joked, and it was Bunny's mistake of momentarily forgetting that fact.

Bubbles also didn't miss the change in Buttercup's sleeping position from the other bed to her right.

The pillow the black-haired girl was currently sleeping on had been knocked down onto the floor hours after the toughest Utonium sister had slept.

* * *

**RETRACING STEPS**

* * *

Bubbles gushed on and on as she continuously took pictures of the scenic view from the inside of their moving train from the Santa Lucia Train Station.

"Keep that up, and you wouldn't have any film left for when we actually get to Venice." Buttercup drawled, flipping through a sports magazine with her green iPod on full blast.

"I can't help it!" Bubbles smiled, sorting through the camera's memory. "The view… it's just so breathtaking!".

The second oldest of the sisters snorted, rolling her peridot green eyes. "Tell that to 'The Cheery Adventurer'.".

Both girls turned towards their youngest sister, who was currently leaning forward dangerously, her tired face hidden underneath the hood of her lilac sweatshirt.

The train suddenly swayed, and poor Bunny was thrown forward rather harshly.

Bubbles winced as Buttercup snickered.

Bunny immediately stood up, rather frantic, "I'm up, I'm up! Don't anyone dare touch my sweets and chocolates!".

Her two sisters noticed the dark shadows under their sister's exhausted eyes, her skin paler than usual.

"Are you sure you're alright, Bunny?" Bubbles asked worriedly, Buttercup holding the magazine to her face to hide her equally concerned look.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine!" The childish brunette dusted her white pleated skirt, "I'm just sooo sleepy!".

Buttercup reached one hand inside the pockets of Bubble's dark blue purse and threw a rather large chocolate bar towards Bunny, who caught it easily.

"Chocolate?"

Buttercup flipped the page of her magazine, "You'll need the sugar.".

Bunny tore open the wrapper, frowning a bit. "But it's bittersweet!".

"Just like you." Their black-haired sister dryly replied, flipping to another page. "In case you didn't know, we need you awake.".

"Hmph!" Bunny huffed, crossing her arms and turning around, but bit into the semi-sweet treat anyway. "How long 'til we arrive?" She asked, the chocolate bar stuck inside her mouth as she placed the camera back inside her small backpack.

"We're already here."

The Utonium trio looked outside the train's windows and took in the view with awed breaths, the exceptionally picturesque view of Venice in all its splendor and beauty.

"Gorgeous…" Bubbles gasped at the sights.

"Whoa!" Bunny's eyes twinkled as she practically glued her face to the train windows. "I can't wait to tour Venice!".

"Don't we know it." Buttercup rolled her eyes, though her voice contained a hint of awe. "Just remember why we actually came here.".

"Of course!" Bunny grinned as they left the train, walking around the shops and stalls-lined sidewalks and streets that lined the ever-so famous winding canals.

Bunny smiled as a fresh breeze blew past her, her skin feeling the cool air in the morning.

"So, where are we starting?"

"…"

"…"

No answer.

Bunny turned around to find that her two older sisters had silently disappeared amongst the small crowd.

"Oh, come on! We're splitting up again!?"

The brunette huffed, pouting as she crossed her arms.

"Help!"

Bunny's eyes widened as she turned around to see a woman crying for help as a scraggly man ran swiftly away from her, holding a rather expensive-looking purse.

"Help! Thief!"

'A purse snatcher!' Bunny thought as the thief was headed straight her way. She wanted to help, but what could she do?

She was just a normal 16 year-old girl!

If only Buttercup was here…

Then, just as the thief was just a few meters away from her, she suddenly lost control of her body.

Very much unconsciously, almost as if on instinct, Bunny abruptly swooped down and delivered a swift kick aimed at the thief's bent knees, knocking the muddled man down with a loud thud, catching the purse in midair as she completed a full turn and pressed her foot down hard at the man's back to prevent him from escaping.

Bunny blinked.

How the hell did she do that?!

The woman, along with a few officers, ran over to where she stood, confused, as the officers picked the thief up and took him away.

Bunny blankly handed the purse back to its overly grateful owner, still wondering what the hell just happened.

Shaking her head, the youngest Utonium sister hastily pushed her thoughts back for later and instead focused on the purse's owner who was thanking her.

The older woman had long straight golden-brown locks falling just below her waist in delicate layers, framing her sweet face having light grey eyes and a smile befitting of an angel.

The woman smiled sweetly.

"Hi! My name is Minerva!".

_Don't trust her._

Bunny inwardly widened her eyes.

Where did that come from?

But as Bunny looked deeper into those grey eyes, she could see a carefully hidden acuity and she knew she had to be careful around this woman.

"And I'm Bunny!" Bunny decided to reply in accordance with her title.

She hated faking cheerfulness.

Minerva tilted her head, "What a cute name! But what's a pretty foreign girl like you doing here in Venice?".

Bunny smiled as she brought out her camera, "To go sightseeing, of course!".

The golden-brown haired woman childishly grinned, "Great! I'll be your tour guide then, just for today!".

"E-Eh!?"

"Think of it as my thanks for helping me with that awful purse snatcher!"

Bunny sweated a little, "O-Oh, no thanks! I wouldn't want to trouble you…".

"Nonsense!" Minerva smiled happily as she took Bunny's arm with hers, walking the both of them to a nearby gondola renting area. "It's no trouble at all!".

'Yeah, for her!' Bunny thought, inwardly panicking, 'How am I supposed to hunt for the next journal page with her tagging along?!'.

* * *

Buttercup was walking without a care on one of the sidewalks, the rocky pavement not really helping at all to alleviate her hurting feet as she continued to mutter curses and complaints.

Maneuvering through the crowd, she didn't see a tiny head of small auburn curls heading right towards her.

As it was, a rather hard collision was inevitable.

"Ouch! Watch it, you blind peasant!"

"What the-" Buttercup looked down at the source of the irritating and whiny voice.

The small girl had a powdered white tone on her already too-pale skin, her auburn hair falling down to halfway below her shoulders and curling around her freckled face and neck, coal black eyes buried under thick layers of gold eye shadow and mascara.

And judging by the girl's choice of apparel, or more appropriately lack thereof, Buttercup hated her already.

The girl managed to let out an expression of a mix of shock and scorn.

"Blossom?!..."

Buttercup raised her eyebrows, "You know my sister?!".

The girl sneered, "Ah, my mistake, just one of her pathetic family. Why look so surprised? Oh, I know, that worthless girl must be too ashamed to show her ugly face even to her own poor family!".

'The only thing poor here are your insults.' Buttercup thought, twitching and trying to contain her irritation as she voiced her thoughts aloud.

The girl gasped, flipping her small curls over her shoulder. "Why you lowly peasant! I am the sole heiress to the most powerful conglomerate owned by my daddy, magnate Morbucks, and as such, am above using such disgraceful language! Of course, what do I expect from an idiot relative of that wretched _Blossom_…".

Buttercup twitched again, gritting her teeth as she remembered just who she was talking to. 'This girl… just cannot insult.'.

"You're Princess Morbucks."

Princess huffed haughtily, raising her chin up. "Ha, I see you know who I am. I mean, why wouldn't you? I'm just oh-sooo famous and rich and popular and-"

And Buttercup punched her right in the face, smirking as she heard a satisfying loud crack.

"YOU BROKE MY NOSE!"

The black-haired Utonium cracked her knuckles, feeling a vein burst at hearing the annoying whiny nasal voice.

"Don't worry. I'm breaking your mouth next."

* * *

Bunny sighed in relief.

The grey-eyed child stuck in a woman's body who goes by the name of Minerva finally left after hours and hours **and hours** of touring Venice!

Bunny rolled her eyes, giving a tired wave to her two sisters who were on their way to where she stood on a sidewalk with particularly stormy waters.

Really, they were more like going around in circles!

The woman almost made her hate touring, for crying out loud!

And she was supposed to be 'The Cheery Adventurer'!

"Did you find anything?" Bubbles asked, adjusting her baby blue cardigan. Judging by her semi-disheveled appearance, she had run all around Venice, just like her.

Bunny shook her head as Buttercup huffed, "If by 'anything' you mean a complete waste of time, then yes, I did find anything.".

"Oh come on, I'm sure it wasn't that bad!" Bubbles spoke, only to be replied with a raised eyebrow from her older sister and a humiliated silence from her younger sister.

Even Bunny couldn't refute, much to her embarrassment. Since when did she go against her own title?

…Since Bunny met Minerva, that's when.

Bunny is seriously starting to regret helping that woman…

"Get back here you thief!"

All three Utonium sisters were surprised to hear an officer shout as they all turned around to find several officers angrily giving chase to an ever-so familiar disheveled man headed towards them.

Bunny gasped, "It's the purse snatcher from earlier!".

Her sisters looked at her in shock, "What?!".

Before Bunny could reply, the chase had reached their area and the thief had grabbed her backpack and gave her a rather hard shove before running past them.

"W-Whoa…"

Bunny lost her balance, almost falling into the dangerous waters. Thankfully her sisters had alarmingly grabbed hold of her and pulled her back to safety.

Her eyes stayed wide, however, when the clasp of her necklace suddenly broke and fell into the raging waters when she had been quickly pulled back.

"No!"

Her necklace!

The very necklace that she had always worn ever since she could remember, the very necklace that she had never taken off.

Her mind shut down.

That was the only explanation she could possibly think off as her body moved on its own and rapidly dived down the deep Venetian waters to retrieve her necklace.

Caught by the strong torrents of water, Bunny ignored the sting pricking her narrowed eyes and the onslaught of coldness seeping into her skin, her hands and hair swirling around the dark waters.

Even though she could not hear a sound because the water was muting her ears, she was sure her sisters were frantically crying out her name aloud and Bubbles was trying her best in restraining Buttercup from diving in after her.

She felt a bit of relief, no one would survive in this strong underwater storm, not even Buttercup.

She would have been plunging in to her death.

Bunny ignored the small voice in her head chastising her for doing the exact same thing.

The brunette could not help but grin as her hand caught hold of a familiar thin purple chain and her grasp automatically tightened.

Her tremor and fear dissipated as she spent the last of her energy putting on the necklace, having none left to swim up to safety.

She silently prayed and apologized as her still body drifted deeper and deeper down the dark and dangerous waters.

'I'm sorry sisters… looks like we won't see each other again after all… I only regret worrying you and causing you sorrow…' Bunny let a sad smile adorn her rapidly numbing face, along with her body. 'I just wish we could have all taken one last group picture… together… as a family…'.

And there went the last of her breath.

She exhaled for the final time.

But Bunny was more occupied with the thought of her family and friends.

She did not fear dying.

…

…

…

_*Throb*_

If Bunny could move, she would have gasped right now.

Pain.

She felt a sudden excruciating pain!

_*Throb*_

She felt a strange burning sensation spreading through her head.

What's happening?!

It's as if an unknown force was crushing her head!

_*Throb*_

If she could, she would have screamed.

She felt as if her mind was splitting apart!

S-Stop!

_*Throb*_

She was brought to tears, tears that melded with the waters drowning her, the pain was unbearable!

She felt a sudden onslaught of pain and something else, something she could not seem to describe…

She was reminded of the times she came crying to her older sisters because of her weakness, she was the weakest of them four and she hated it.

_*Throb*_

She could not take it any longer.

_*Throb*_

Closing her eyes as she slowly succumbed to unconsciousness, Bunny missed the frantic pair of arms taking hold of her and the sudden pull upwards of her body.

How could she? She was more occupied by the sudden onslaught of memories…

…

Memories…

…

Unknown memories…

What…

…

From the darkness of her mind, Bunny could barely make out the figure of a little girl. She looked to be about ten years of age with long brown hair tied in a high ponytail, her eyes hidden underneath her bangs. She was surprised to find that the girl wore the exact same necklace she risked her life to retrieve.

The girl… looked familiar.

Who…

_The girl smiled._

Memories…

These… are these memories… mine?...

_Bunny._

**Memories of her forgotten childhood.**

_Do you remember?_

* * *

_Little ten-year-old Bunny stilled, keeping quiet as she immediately hid far away from her eldest sister and their daddy, accidentally overhearing their rather loud argument._

_A twelve-year-old Blossom was shouting at their father, her voice strangely calm despite her clear rage._

"_What do you mean you'll seal away all our memories?" _

_It took Bunny all the self-control she had from gasping aloud in shock and revealing her presence, really, she was trained better than that!_

_The Professor sighed, "I will only lock up all your memories pertaining to all in connection with your training."._

"_Then you'll have taken away more or less 12 years off our minds." Blossom narrowed her darkening pink eyes, "You'll kill us."._

_Bunny was wide-eyed, and only her trained instincts and her training prevented her from gasping aloud and giving up her cover._

_Surely her eldest was only joking, right? The Professor, no, their daddy would never ever do that!_

…_To them, at least._

_The Professor shook his head, "No, the rest of your remaining memories, no matter how small, will suffice to keep you four alive."._

"_Alive, and severely weakened. Our bodies as weak as a newborn baby and as slow as time, our minds as empty as the dead, our instincts as dull as rocks, our hearts as fragile as glass, our skills and abilities __**zero**__." Blossom calmly seethed. It was times like this that both Bunny and the Professor were reminded of the red-head's perfect control over her emotions. "Reduced to mere children…"._

"_You __**are**__ children." The Professor pointed out._

"_You __**made**__ us children." Blossom coolly corrected._

_The Professor sighed, "You have to understand that I had made a grave mistake and am only trying to fix my errors. I am doing what's-"._

_Blossom interrupted him, "Don't you __**dare**__ say that you're doing what's best for us."._

"_I shouldn't have brought you four up like this…" The Professor murmured, but was clearly heard by two sets of well-trained ears._

"_Too late for that, father." Blossom satirically stated, rolling her pink eyes. "And knowing you, too late for me and my sisters too."._

_Bunny furrowed her eyebrows._

_What did Blossom mean?_

_The Professor, on the other hand, merely sighed._

"_So you do know."_

_The eldest Utonium sister wryly smiled._

"_I know everything."_

_Bunny stifled a giggle._

_She and Bubbles and Buttercup often joked that their eldest knew everything._

_It would kinda explain how and why Blossom always knew where Bunny hid her 'secret' stash of candies and sweets._

"_Not everything, I'm afraid."_

_Blossom took one quick glance at the Professor's half-hearted grin and quickly asked, "Is there any chance for a memory restoration?"._

_Bunny was wide-eyed, she hadn't even thought of the possibility of a memory restoration!_

_As expected of the smartest of the four Utonium sisters._

_The Professor frowned._

"_I'm afraid the only thing that would be able to make that possible would be encountering a life-and-death situation. The closer they are to dying, the more the memory locks would break."_

_Bunny clasped her hands tightly around her mouth. She didn't know how much more surprises she could take._

"_But it's not that simple, is it?" Blossom asked, "Nothing's ever simple."._

"_You're right, again, as always…" The Professor smiled bitterly towards himself. "I will not lie. The whole unlocking experience will be excruciatingly painful."._

_Bunny bit her lip, eyes widening._

"_How painful?"_

"_If the life-and-death situation doesn't kill you, the pain will."_

_Bunny was practically trembling, trying to compose herself. She was better than this!_

_Blossom hummed nonchalantly, "That painful then?..."._

_The Professor looked at his eldest, "You're being surprisingly calm about all this…"._

_The red-head laughed._

_But both Bunny and the Professor could tell that it was a hollow, empty laugh._

_Blossom looked at her father behind desolate eyes._

"_A father knows best, after all…"_

* * *

"BUNNY!"

Bunny gasped as she instantly sat up, her eyes opened and quickly narrowing from the sting of the sunlight.

"Oh, Bunny!" Bubbles cried as she latched on to her youngest sister, sobbing. "You're okay!".

'Duh.' Bunny thought in an odd mix of bluntness and sarcasm.

Bunny blinked.

Where did that come from?

The brunette looked around and registered her surroundings.

They were in a hospital.

'Boring.' She thought in a drawl, inwardly half-closing her eyes. 'I hate the hospital.'.

Bunny blinked once more.

Again, where did that come from?

Buttercup, scowling rather frighteningly, growled out, "Damn it Bunny! Do that again, and I'll save you only to kill you myself!".

Bunny couldn't help the tiny whimper as she edged away from her black-haired sister.

She'd rather die than face Buttercup.

See? Even the other patients in the hospital think so too, judging by the way they all backed away fearfully from Buttercup, the latter radiating a frightening dark aura.

Bubbles frowned, her beautiful face covered with dry and fresh tears. "Buttercup, don't shout!".

'You're doing it too.' The brunette thought monotonously.

Bunny frowned, where does that keep coming from?!

The youngest Utonium tried to speak, only to find her voice come out as an uneven crack.

Her blonde sister turned towards her, handing her a glass of water. "Don't force yourself Bunny, you're still recovering.".

Bunny also couldn't help the slight tremble when she accepted the glass in her hands with a slight nod, the cool liquid refreshing her throat.

"Don't worry," Bubbles smiled, "The doctor says you're okay, finding nothing serious other than a rather large amount of brackish water in your system.".

"Brackish water, the mixture of salt water and fresh water."

Bunny blinked for the third time, this time with her sisters.

Okay, just where is this coming from?!

Bubbles blinked, "Yes… I'm surprised you knew.".

"I'm not." Buttercup huffed, "I'm feeling more livid than surprised to find that your tiny brain grew.".

"I'm sorry, okay!" Bunny barely croaked out, bowing her head down. "It's just… my body automatically jumped in!".

"And all for what?" Buttercup glared, "A stupid fucking necklace!".

"Buttercup!" Bubbles frowned.

Bunny, mind remembering the cause of the situation, clasped her hand on the necklace hanging under her shirt and felt relieved. "Back off my necklace!".

"Why?" The black-haired Utonium glared deeper, "Is it more important than your life?".

"Yes!"

Her reply was immediate.

Buttercup and Bubbles blinked, shocked, the former glowered and asked, "Why?!".

"…"

Bunny was silent.

Scowling anew, Buttercup narrowed her eyes and left with a 'Tch!'.

Bubbles smiled apologetically, "Don't mind your sister, she's just really worried.".

Bunny looked down, "I know…".

Silence reigned for a while, before Bunny spoke again.

"…Does… does she hate me?..."

Bubbles blinked before her features softened, "Buttercup loves you Bunny, she could never hate you. You're our precious youngest sister, after all…".

Bunny's eyes were still downcast.

"…She's the one who dived in after me, isn't she?"

Her blonde sister could only nod, feeling no words to say.

Silence reigned in again.

Bubbles got up, "I'll go talk to her. Get some rest Bunny." And with that, she left.

Bunny fiddled with her necklace as she contemplated in silence, the only noise belonging to the other patients and the nurses and doctors scuttling about in and out the room.

Closing her eyes, she sighed as she plopped back down onto the hospital bed.

She almost gasped when the ever-so familiar little brunette girl peered at her from where she kneeled on the side of the bed.

_Do you remember?_

"…I know you…" Bunny blinked as her mind flashed dozens and dozens of memories.

_The girl smiled._

"You're me."

_Little Bunny smiled… and disappeared._

Bunny blinked for the nth time, unconsciously fingering her necklace.

_Do you remember?_

Bunny smiled almost wistfully.

'…Yes, I remember now...'

The youngest Utonium sighed and slowly closed her tired eyes.

'A quick nap might help me sort my mind…'

* * *

_Little Bunny reappeared, standing beside the white hospital bed as she stared at her older self's sleeping face._

_Little Bunny's smile slowly turned disappointed._

_**Do you truly remember everything?...**_

* * *

That night, back at their hotel, the youngest Utonium sister tossed and turned, and even buried her face under her feathery pillow, but she just could not succumb to sleep.

The brunette bit her lip, a habit she unconsciously does whenever she gets too nervous.

Which was mildly irksome, really, as she outgrew that annoying habit when she was ten.

Bunny had **two** recollections today.

* * *

_Blossom smiled as she watched as little Bunny with glittering eyes played with the thin purple chain, an ornate violet key pendant attached to it and hanging innocently from the gifted necklace. _

_Kunzite eyes darted over to where a little mop of chocolate played in the sun, zeroing on the familiar pendant hanging around the little girl's neck._

"_There's one lock you have yet to find…"_

* * *

**Me: I am not dead!**

**Yeah, I must confess… had a really really really MAJOR writer's block with this chapter, I've never felt so empty and blank before! I had lost absolutely all motivation to continue any of my stories…**

**That, and I was extremely busy with schoolwork and my very important exams and etc. etc. etc. …**

**And I also had to wring out my mind to deal with all these plot holes… and don't even get me started on the sequencing of events!**

**So I'm very sorry if it took soooooooooooo long! **

**Ack, please don't kill me!...**

**And if you're wondering if Bunny is Beast's sister, hahaha… ****no****. I think it's obviously proven false by this chapter. It's someone else, don't worry. Someone who's practically revealed already *Wink***

**Ah, Buttercup, you little eavesdropper. Shouldn't have picked up that pillow…**

**Yeah, as I've probably mentioned that I have absolutely no clue about international sightseeing so… I'm not really sure that Venice's waters are that scary and dangerous…**

**All I can say is: And the mystery gets deeper!**

**Ah, I dare you to guess what Minerva actually looks like before it's revealed (In the next chapter, I think…)**

**And sadly, expect my updates to be a whole lot slower now that I'm extremely busy. I'm so busy, I can't even afford to be lazy anymore… *Cries***

**Every time I find that I have a new review, I can't help but smile!**

**Thanks, you guys!**

**I am trying my best to improve my writing skills, and I hope I don't disappoint!**

* * *

**Character Comments: Princess Morbucks**

Honestly, whenever I write about Princess, I lose all my (however practically nonexistent) ability to insult. And so that's where her poor ability to insult comes from. Princess Morbucks just can't swear, cuss, curse, and/or use any profanities whatsoever! I just used the explanation that she's rich and so above using such words, but that only makes it worse… for her. She's the mockery of everyone, and no one hesitates to tell her that and/or remind her of her lack of ability to affront. I mean, even sweet innocent Bubbles can insult better than her! I agree with Buttercup, this girl just **cannot** insult.


	7. VI

It was silent.

That was just the way he liked it as he and his men made their way along the hallway of the Venetian police headquarters, watching their steps, their legs avoiding the tangled masses of bloody bodies littered around the hallway.

He scoffed.

Officers.

Nuisances.

Finally arriving at a particular door, he crossed his arms as one of his men broke down the wooden door with a hard kick, startling the two occupants in the room.

His second-in-command swiftly took out her gun and in seconds, the last remaining officer was down. Permanently.

The other occupant, a rather scraggly-looking man, sat calmly on a small chair, completely undisturbed by the massacre in front of his face.

In fact, he was smirking.

"Marco, the De Leon Famiglia assassination division head, I presume?"

Marco narrowed his dark eyes as he quickly signaled his men to surround the man. He was not who they came after.

"Who are you? What the fuck happened to Lisa?"

Lisa was supposed to rendezvous here with them in the guise of a common thief to hand over Intel concerning the Muinotu Famiglia, more specifically their assassination division, not this… _stranger_.

The disheveled man smirked even wider, more… playful.

The scraggly-looking man slowly stood up, unminding of the numerous guns pointed at him, and slowly removed the latex mask he wore as a disguise to reveal the face of a rather pretty girl.

"Lisa has had to deal with other matters keeping her… busy." The girl smiled teasingly, taking off the rest of her disguise to expose the black leather coat and boots she wore. Marco immediately eyed the gleaming silver twin daggers strapped to her thighs.

"Like what?" He shot out, getting angrier by the second. 'Shit, this bitch is ruining the plans!'.

"How about…" The girl adopted a thinking position, pretending to think about it.

Marco, surprised to find that he was extremely nervous, could not help the sweat that ran down the side of his face when the girl adopted a Cheshire grin.

"…Her death."

Marco could not believe it.

He just could not believe that this tiny girl singlehandedly took out one of their family's best spies, took her place, infiltrated their family, ruined their plans, and had the audacity to ambush him.

Him!

He was the head of the De Leon assassination division for a reason!

He furiously barked to his men, "Kill her!".

The girl merely smiled as she seemed to disappear amongst the smoky barrage of bullets courtesy of his men, making Marco scowl deeper.

He was even more furious when two of his men suddenly collapsed to the floor, identical silver daggers gleaming from where they were embedded deep in his men's backs.

"Right at the heart…" Marco heard his second-in-command murmur, "She knows what she's doing.".

Marco growled, "I'll fucking kill that bitch!".

A soft, almost seductive voice suddenly murmured in his ear, sounding more like a musical laughter.

"I'd like to see you _try_."

* * *

"…And their dead bodies were the only thing that's left of them when we got there!" One of the De Leon Famiglia members shakily reported, nervous eyes centered to the marble floors of one of their family's huge Mansions, afraid to meet his boss' furious expression.

"WHAT?!"

He, along with the other members, flinched and cowered even more as their scary boss broke his wooden desk in half in rage.

Ignoring his numerous attendants' fuss about the splinters stuck in his fist, the boss of the De Leon angrily bellowed, "Find that girl and kill her! I don't care how, just do it! How dare she provoke the De Leon Famiglia!".

The overly-scared subordinates in front of him barely squeaked a "Yes sir!" and hastily ran out of their fuming boss' spacious office.

The De Leon boss sat back onto his black leather chair, angrily pondering over the recent course of events.

"Shit!" He gritted his teeth, "This changes everything! My plans are all ruined!".

His most trusted advisor dutifully stood at his right, shifting through a pile of paperwork in his gloved hands.

"Not only that, but we have lost five of our best men. We may not be severely weakened, but it is still a large setback nonetheless…"

"Tch." His dark green eyes, the color of money, looked at his calm advisor, "And just what do you suggest I do?".

"I believe the first action we must take would be to find a replacement for Marco, sir."

De Leon frowned, a bulky hand rubbing his hard temples as he leaned back on his leather chair. "Well? Any suggestions?"

His advisor took a moment of silence to think before he sighed, "As your most trusted advisor, I share your mindset of having only the family's best interests at heart and as such, I believe the best candidate for the head of our family's assassination division would be your nephew, sir.".

That, of all the possible things his advisor was to say, was not what he was expecting.

"What!?" He furrowed his brows, turning to look at his advisor. "My nephew?! I have no qualms about him returning, hell, I would even be delighted if he returned and retook his position as heir, but he retired a month ago!".

"An _early_ retirement, sir." His advisor replied, pushing up his glasses, looking like an ever-so loyal butler in his black suit. "And he retired not even at the peak of his career.".

"Even so, he retired on his own decision!" The De Leon boss snapped his fingers as one of his attendants handed him a cigar. "Pray tell, how am I going to convince him to come back? You know he's even more stubborn than me!".

His most trusted advisor, in an uncharacteristic moment, grinned.

"Do not worry about that sir. I've got it all under control."

De Leon raised a brow, about to respond, when his very expensive phone suddenly rang. Taking his cigar on his left hand, he answered his phone on his other hand.

"What?"

His grouchy and gruff tone was replied by a playful and teasing deep baritone.

"Now uncle, is that any way to speak to your favorite nephew?"

De Leon dropped his cigar in shock, eyes widening as he ignored his advisor's widening grin.

"You're my only nephew!"

"Tsk, tsk. If you're gonna be like that, then I may just change my mind about leaving from my own departure…"

De Leon groaned, rubbing his temple with his free hand.

He didn't mind when his nephew played his stupid word games… so long as it was not directed at him.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!"

He didn't know whether to be relieved or apprehensive of his nephew's sudden calm tone when he responded.

"I'm retiring from retirement."

De Leon didn't expect to be shocked a second time.

"You're… coming back?..." He suddenly growled, "Why?!".

He knew his nephew was grinning on the other end of their conversation, wherever he may be.

"Save the aggressiveness for your enemies, uncle. Besides, I thought you would be thrilled if I came back?"

"I find it suspicious that you would choose now to come back, of all possible times. Hell, I find it even more suspicious that you chose to come back at all!" De Leon barked out.

He could hear his nephew hum at the other end, "I've gotten word of your **situation**, my _dear_ uncle. And I must say, I'm surprised to find you so calm about it…".

De Leon raised a brow, "What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"How redundant." De Leon did not miss the double meaning of his nephew's words. "You should watch out uncle, you've been placed on a very _precarious_ situation. Oh, how the mighty have fallen…".

De Leon would **not** have anyone talk to him this way, even if it's his own nephew!

"You watch your mouth boy! I could have you terminated if I wanted to!"

"No, **you** watch **your** mouth, uncle." He widened his eyes at his nephew's sudden change in tone, "**I** could have **you** terminated **whenever** I wanted to.".

And somehow, De Leon did not doubt his nephew's words.

"Are you threatening me?!"

He could imagine his nephew smile wryly as he replied, "My _dear_ uncle. I feel no need to. You threaten yourself just fine.".

His nephew abruptly hung up.

"What the-" De Leon gritted his teeth, crushing his phone in his hand. "That insolent little-".

His advisor handed him another cigar, "Remember, boss. He may be very… difficult… to deal with, but he's still of importance to the family.".

De Leon huffed, "I'd be worrying more about the family right now, William.".

William raised a brow, pushing up his glasses as he looked towards his boss. "May I ask why, sir?".

"Isn't it obvious?" De Leon slouched in his seat, letting out a hoarse scoff. "My _dear_ nephew is the family's problem now, even more so when he becomes the next boss.".

* * *

He sighed, shuffling the reports in his hands of the recent happenings within the De Leon Famiglia as he walked through the numerous hallways of one of the family's lavish mansions.

On the most trusted advisor's orders, he was to locate the replacement head of their assassination division, and hopefully, the next boss of the De Leon Famiglia: The sole nephew of the current De Leon boss.

Sometimes, he hated being the head of the De Leon intelligence division.

Finally reaching his targeted room, he opened the ornate double doors to find the sole occupant haphazardly draped across a rather obviously luxurious bed, and he thought he was asleep.

"Jay-Jay!"

…At least until the sole occupant decided to speak up.

"Dylan, how many times do I have to remind you to address me properly?" 'Jay-Jay' palmed his face, groaning aloud. "Call me 'Jace', dammit!".

Dylan smirked, sitting up.

Jace studied his childhood friend, and he had to admit, Dylan hadn't changed much. The De Leon heir had messy spiky black hair framing his face, his equally messy spiky bangs perfectly accentuating his midnight blue eyes, his usual playful and taunting expression giving him a wild charm that never failed to draw in the ladies who just could never seem to resist him.

"So Jay-Jay, what's up?" Dylan asked, yawning as he ignored his closest friend's words.

Jace sighed, already used to it, and threw the reports towards Dylan, who merely caught it lazily.

"I'm sure you've already heard of the recent episode of the De Leon Famiglia drama." Jace replied, watching as his friend shifted through the papers lethargically.

"The 'mini-massacre'?" Dylan blinked, radiating very obvious boredom. "I've always hated Marco and his men anyway. Again, what's up?".

Jace palmed his face. Once more.

"Look, you may not care about what happened to Marco, hell, you may even be ecstatic!" Jace ignored the grin Dylan adopted as he continued to speak, "But others do. And by others, I mean the rest of the De Leon Famiglia. I'm sure you get what I'm trying to say, right?".

Dylan yawned, running a hand through his messy hair.

"You're in need for Marco's replacement."

"Exactly."

It was silent for a while as Jace watched his childhood friend organize his thoughts. Or at least pretend to organize his thoughts.

Jace knew him well.

"Jace."

Oh, Jace knew him **too** well.

When Dylan addresses him correctly, you know it's a bad omen.

Dylan bore his deep midnight blue eyes onto his own caramel eyes as he calmly spoke, "You do know I'm retired, right?".

"I know."

Dylan peered out into his spacious bedroom's large glass windows, "So you know I can't take the job.".

Jace sighed, "You do understand the severity of our situation, right?".

His childhood friend rolled his eyes, "What, the humiliation De Leon suffered?".

Jace deadpanned, "It **is** kinda embarrassing for us to have five of our best men single-handedly taken out by a mere girl.".

Dylan blinked.

"…You're joking, right?"

Jace merely stared at him, face still set on a deadpan.

"Oh, shit!" Dylan grinned, laughing aloud "Wo-ow, my _dear_ uncle must be sooo red right now! I almost want to barge into his office just to see the look on that old man's face!".

Nice to know Dylan still hasn't lost his odd mix of sense of humor and sadism.

"Yeah," Jace rolled his caramel eyes, "Because there's something _oh-so_ funny about the deaths of our family members.".

"I'm sorry," Dylan snickered, sounding entirely unapologetic. "But you have got to admit, getting killed by a girl is the perfect death for a sexist like Marco!".

Even Jace let out a smirk at that.

"You have to give him some credit though." Jace added, "The girl's a professional. The niece of the boss of the Cicerra Famiglia and one of their top agents."

"The Cicerra Famiglia?" Dylan raised a brow. "The family nicknamed 'The Amazons' for being mostly comprised of women?".

Jace nodded, plucking a photograph from his coat pocket and flicking it towards Dylan, the picture sticking to his face as he made no move to remove the photograph from his face.

"That's a picture my men managed to find of the girl."

The picture was of a very pretty girl with soft pastel orange hair in long layers down to her mid back and beneath her uneven fringe were playful sea green eyes twinkling with mischief. She was posed like a model, her lips painted red and set to a cute pout to allure, winking teasingly to the camera. She was charming, and Dylan could clearly see that. He licked his lips. In fact, she reminded him of melon, his favorite fruit.

"…I think I've got a crush."

His best friend looked at him amusedly.

"You've got a crush?"

"I **think** I've got a crush."

Jace rolled his eyes, learning not to prod Dylan any further than the black-haired guy wants, lest he get a headache from his childhood friend's infamous 'word games'.

Jace decided to humor him, "Apparently, her name's Cathlin Thryce.".

"Cathlin…" Dylan slowly rolled the girl's name off his tongue, liking how it sounded, and Jace did not miss the purposeful exclusion of the girl's last name. "Well, Kitty-Cat better watch out then…".

The black-haired assassin wryly smirked, his playful expression and the mischievous glint in his midnight eyes caused Jace to shiver in fright and pity the poor girl as he watched his childhood friend reach for his phone, no doubt to call his _dear_ uncle.

Dylan De Leon was back, and he had just found his first –and primary- target.

* * *

"I'm back!"

The huge ornate double doors were harshly slammed open to reveal a girl with long layered pastel orange hair reaching down to her mid back, her sea green eyes beneath her uneven messy bangs radiating self-confidence and mischief, the black leather coat and dark shades giving her a mysterious appeal as she walked towards the sole other person in the spacious room.

"I can see that."

Another girl who looked similar to the first girl calmly stated, sitting in front of a white vanity mirror as she gently brushed her shoulder-length straight pastel orange hair of the same shade, her soft sea blue eyes visible under her side swept bangs.

The first girl rolled her eyes and cried out rather dramatically, "Out of the very goodness of my kind heart, I had risked my life just to do you a HUGE favor and this is the thanks I get? Way to make a girl feel appreciated!".

Her companion looked undisturbed.

"Really, I do appreciate your help, but you could have acted in a more… clandestine manner." The girl with the shorter hair of the two spoke up, not once looking at her companion as she continued to brush her hair.

The first girl scoffed loudly, "But that's so boring! You know I live for action and danger!".

"And look at where it has got you." Her companion drawled, effectively shutting her up. "And besides, I did tell you to move furtively. That includes in choosing your cover well.".

The first girl protested, "I did!".

"I did not know being a purse snatcher was furtive."

The first girl huffed, embarrassed, before speaking up anew, "**She** was there! I had to do something!".

"I'm sure there were other ways to omit Minerva from the scene other than stealing her purse.".

The first girl's cheeks reddened at her companion's cool rebuke.

"It was a rather cool purse…" She murmured, but her companion made no indication she had heard her weak rebuttal.

"That's not all you failed to keep clandestine." The girl with the shorter hair calmly spoke up, "I'm sure the De Leon Famiglia is furiously hunting for your head right about now. I could not blame them though, what you did was rather… unnecessary.".

The first girl shrugged, waving a hand uncaringly. "Meh, so I panicked a little. They'll get over it. Besides, I'm not cut out for infiltration and De Leon should be thankful that I got rid of their weak links for them!".

"'Weak links'?" Her companion raised a delicate eyebrow, "You killed the head of the assassination department, his second-in-command, and three of their best men.".

The first girl still looked unconcerned. "Then I had done **us** a favor, taking out some of their best men.".

Her companion hummed silently, still brushing her hair.

"…You made Dylan come back out of retirement."

The first girl almost choked, eyes wide in shock and disbelief.

"Dylan De Leon, the nephew and sole heir of the current boss of the De Leon Famiglia and genius prodigy since he was five, promoted to head when he was fifteen, retired at eighteen and not even at the peak of his career?! The best assassin De Leon has ever had since who knows when?!"

Her companion was indifferent.

"Did I stutter?"

"…Shit."

The first girl bit her thumb, a nervous expression on her pretty face.

"Do you think Catherine will know?"

"Why do you think you were able to do my favor in the first place?"

"…So is that a 'no'?" The first girl weakly asked, sea green eyes begging.

They were interrupted by a piercing loud shout that rang throughout the enormous mansion they were in, the voice belonging to someone they knew all too well.

"CATHLIN!"

"Aw shit…" The first girl whimpered, head hung low and shoulders sagging. She could clearly see her companion smirking. "Catherine knows…".

"You'd better go, before the boss, and more importantly your _beloved_ aunt, loses any more of her temper…" Her companion coolly stated, but Cathlin knew that she was snickering inside. Her companion paused for a second before adding, in an uncharacteristic manner, "Sucks to be you.".

Cathlin only groaned even louder, slowly walking towards the double doors with dragging steps.

"Oh, one more thing."

Cathlin turned her head around, her troubled face silently asking her companion as she had finally stopped brushing her hair.

"Did you have to push **her** to a drowning death?"

Cathlin was silent for a while, turning her sea green eyes away from those hauntingly familiar sea blue eyes. "I know it pains you, but it was necessary. They all need to wake up, and I just gave them a little push while I delivered 'the papers'. It may be too late for me, but I couldn't just stand by and watch when they still have a chance… Caitlin..."

Eyes softening, Cathlin turned around and opened the ornate double doors.

"…This time, I really did us all a favor."

She walked away.

Her frowning companion could not refute.

Caitlin could not speak.

* * *

Minerva hummed an unfamiliar tune as she entered just one of the many luxurious mansions their division owned, much less than the even more numerous luxurious mansions that were more like castles their entire family owned.

Well, they **are** the top mafia family after all, and their family's boss nicknamed 'The boss of all bosses'.

Opening the large wooden double doors, her heels clicked on the marble floors as she entered the ballroom-like room to find her young division boss sprawled haphazardly on a large Divan sofa, his sleeping figure covered with several silk pillows.

'Cute!' Minerva inwardly squealed, once again thrilled that she joined the division with the cute head, as opposed to the other divisions' handsome heads.

She preferred cute over handsome anytime.

Apparently Beast was a light sleeper as he sensed a sudden arrival of another presence inside the spacious room.

The loud clacking of heels on the marble floor helped too.

He slowly cracked one eye open to find his right-hand… woman… staring closely at him with twinkling eyes.

He wasn't at all bothered, really. In fact, he was quite used to his second-in-command's behavior and childish antics.

"Anything?" He drowsily asked, yawning quite adorably, causing the woman to squeal loudly in delight.

All his subordinates knew that by 'anything', he meant anything interesting enough to be reported.

Beast wasn't one for any unnecessary details, unlike his oldest brother and his third oldest brother.

Minerva childishly pouted, "Mou, boss! It wasn't fun at all! That mission was so boring, it shouldn't even count as one! I mean, there weren't even that many cute or hot guys and all there was to see was water! I actually yawned!".

One tanzanite purple eye peered at her from underneath messy coffee locks.

"Minerva."

The childish woman immediately stopped ranting, unconsciously standing straight and alert.

When her boss used that tone, who wouldn't?

Beast continued as he sat up, eyes half opened as usual, but the effects of his previous tone still lingered. "You went exposed.".

By 'exposed', he meant without a disguise, no cover, identity absolutely unconcealed.

And within the assassination business, going on missions exposed is **fatal**.

Both literally and metaphorically.

Minerva actually fidgeted, looking fretful in her true appearance as she twirled a stray lock of golden-brown hair as her light grey eyes kept looking at everywhere but him.

Who could blame her? Beast's stare was enough to make even the tough and burly De Leon Famiglia boss **flinch**.

Beast continued to stare at her impassively, awaiting an explanation.

"W-Well, s-since I was only to confirm a recent Intel, I decided forgo a disguise…" Minerva hastily explained, "And I went under the image of a local tourist, a harmless woman. I think the incident where I got my purse stolen solidifies that…".

"'The incident', as you put it, was under mission specifications. Completely intentional. You were ordered to dress as a very obviously rich and naïve tourist and attract Lisa into stealing your purse to solidify her own disguise." Beast spoke impassively as he ignored his right-hand… woman… flinch. "Hidden inside your purse was a silent tracking device and after you confirmed whether or not De Leon had Intel about us, you were to eliminate Lisa perfectly.".

And by 'perfectly', he meant quick, clean, silent, without proof, without traces, and no witnesses.

Minerva gulped.

So her boss knew.

Hell, he even knew the name of the girl she was supposed to spy on!

"Of course I did." Beast drawled as if reading her mind, running a hand through his messy hair. "I make it a point to know the missions all my subordinates are assigned. Even if it's too bothersome to do so…".

Minerva blinked, standing still in shock.

She did **not** know that.

She was sure **no one** knew that.

Beast yawned, "Ah well." He suddenly leaned back down onto the comfortable sofa, grabbing the nearest pillow and placing it over his face. "It ended alright enough, I suppose. Nothing we can do anyway…".

Minerva silently giggled, she felt relieved.

Her reprimanding could have ended in worse.

That was one trait the assassination division loved about their boss: Beast was just too damn lazy to do anything about their mistakes and often ended up just giving them a quick scolding and a light punishment, unlike the other division heads.

Minerva had seen the way all the men under the reconnaissance, surveillance, and espionage division always moved cautiously as they carefully made sure not to reveal anything about themselves that may be used against them. (Because no matter what anyone says, their blond division head was not as nice and innocent and angelic as he looked.)

Or how all the men under the combat, defense, and torture and interrogation division always stood straight and alert whenever their boss was near and how their bodies trembled afterwards as they watched their boss walk away. (Because their black-haired division head was even tougher than he looked, and he looked plenty tough to begin with.)

Or even how all the men under the intelligence division would have the constant look of fear and terror in their eyes whenever their boss was mentioned. (Because their red-haired division head was the very epitome of fear and terror, wielding absolute control.)

In a way, they, the men under the tracking, pursuit, black ops, and assassination division, got the easiest positions.

Her musing was cut-off by her young boss yawning drowsily.

Beast murmured, "Again, anything?".

Minerva thought back to what happened in Venice and let out a smile.

"Nope, not a single thing!"

Beast grunted, waving a hand, dismissing his right-hand… woman… as he turned his back to her.

She knew she should have told him about her encounter with 'Brown', but frankly, Minerva could care less. And besides, she felt as if she was doing the girl a huge favor in return, after all.

She thought back to her chance meeting with the cheerful cutie that was apparently named 'Bunny' who was full of charm, and thought back to the passive lazy ice-cube that was her boss.

Minerva smirked.

Yes, she decided.

They would make a **great couple**.

She grinned, dead set on removing her boss' single status.

Really, the things she does for her boss… but that's her job.

She enjoys being his 'babysitter-slash-older sister' anyway!

Minerva could hear faint snoring as she happily walked away, cheerfully nodding to the guards now stationed at the doors.

The two guards nodded back and watched as the golden-brown haired woman giggle to herself as she childishly skipped along the hallways.

The guard on the right gulped, "Uh oh.".

The guard on the left looked at his friend, "What is it?".

"It's Minerva."

"What about her?"

The guard on the right looked nervous, "She was wearing **that** expression.".

The guard on the left raised a brow, feeling confused.

"What's wrong with her expression?"

The guard on the right gulped a second time, a hint of fear in his eyes.

"That was her matchmaking expression…"

The guard on the left looked incredulous, "Her matchmaking expression? What's so scary about that?".

The guard on the right closed his eyes as he patted his friend's elbows sagely. "Oh, trust me. You **never** want to know.".

He looked back at where Minerva turned at a far corner and disappeared.

"I pity the two poor souls that are her next victims…"

Two particular brunettes, one from the very room both guards were currently watching over and the other from a hotel far away, both sneezed simultaneously.

* * *

**RETRACING STEPS**

* * *

"Don't you think Bunny has changed lately?"

"Changed?" Buttercup raised a brow at her sister's sudden question, "Changed how?".

Both Utonium sisters were currently resting at a small café near Venice, pausing in their second attempt to search for the next page of the journal, leaving their youngest sister to rest back at their hotel.

"It's just that ever since the whole Venice fiasco, she's been acting… different…" Bubbles spoke, heavy concern lacing her voice.

She didn't even touch her blueberry milkshake, and blueberry was her favorite! That just goes to show how worried she was.

Buttercup rolled her eyes, pausing in the middle of a bite of her spaghetti.

Even though both knew of their youngest sister's recent changes, both decided not to interfere, believing that it's all temporary and will all pass sometime later.

And besides, Bunny was keeping silent. If she wasn't not ready to open up to them, then as sure as hell they weren't going to force her!

Really, her blonde sister was just too concerned!

"What else is new?"

Bubbles furrowed her eyebrows, looking at her black-haired sister in the eyes, "I mean really different, Buttercup! It's like… it's like she's a whole different person now!".

Buttercup sighed, putting down her fork. "Sure, I noticed that Bunny's been acting strange lately, but don't you think you're overreacting a bit?".

Bubbles frowned before giving an accepting sigh, as she twirled the straw of her blueberry milkshake. "…Maybe you're right…".

The black-haired girl nodded, "Yeah, you really need to relax, sis! That's why we're here, aren't we?".

This time, it was Bubbles who rolled her eyes. "You're the last person I want to hear those words from!".

Buttercup grinned, but promptly frowned as her phone suddenly rang.

She cursed as she took out her phone, muttering. "I swear, if it's Butch, I'm going to neuter him!".

"What?"

Buttercup, and also Bubbles, wasn't expecting to hear the serious feminine voice speak at the other end of the line.

"We have a situation."

* * *

A cute brunette yawned drowsily, rubbing her half-opened amethyst eyes as she stared at the hotel's large glass windows with pure boredom.

Bunny's gotta admit, she's been changing recently… and she knows it.

Receiving unknown memories, moving differently, she wasn't sure how to deal with all this…

She was sometimes tempted to just speak to her sisters and confess about all that has happened, but every time she would stop herself.

How can she confess when she herself doesn't even know what exactly is she's confessing?

Sure, she has some ideas, but…

Bunny squinted as the sunlight entered her eyes and immediately scowled, closing the heavy curtains and drapes. 'Tch.'.

Stopping, she widened her eyes. She used to love the sun!

Keyword: **used**.

Becoming a lot mellower, lethargy-prone, and apathetically blunt are but only some of the changes she's currently undergoing through…

And though she may try to hide it from her sisters, she knew that they knew.

She's experienced –and is still experiencing- all sorts of new changes…

…Including a strong yet odd desire of starting a gun and weapons collection…

…Yet somehow, she felt the more appropriate term would be **re**starting a gun and weapons collection…

Yep, it's unanimous.

She's going crazy.

Must be because of boredom.

'I'm soooooo bored!...' Bunny pouted, crossing her arms. 'How dare they leave me all alone in here while they go off on an adventure!'.

Blinking drearily, she decided to alleviate her boredom by sorting through her camera's numerous pictures.

She grabbed her small backpack and rummaged through its contents.

…And promptly widened her eyes as her hand took out a stack of very familiar expensive perfume-scented missing pink journal pages.

'What the…'

She thought back to 'The incident', as she dubbed the second encounter with the purse snatcher from Venice, and remembered that her backpack was knocked out of her shoulders when she was grabbed and pushed.

Amethyst eyes narrowed as the realization that the scraggly-looking thief had managed to discreetly hide the pages in her small backpack, as well as the thought that he might not even be a normal purse snatcher at all, occurred to her.

Her mind heavy with the implications, Bunny silently cursed as she reached for her phone as a single thought currently took precedence in her head. 'How had he come into possession of the pages in the first place?'.

It took only seconds of ringing before she heard the brusque tone of her sister's voice on the other end of the line, "What?".

"We have a situation."

* * *

To say that Buttercup and Bubbles were shocked when they both returned as fast as they could back to their hotel was a huge understatement.

The two of them just stood there, staring with gaping mouths as Bunny sorted through the piles and piles of scattered pink journal pages on the carpeted floors she was buried under with clear irritation on her pouting face.

"Well?" She drawled, but annoyance was heavily clear on her tone of voice as she looked up at them with half-lidded amethyst eyes. "Are you going to stand there like mindless statues, or are you going to help me? I don't age backwards.".

Snapping out of their stupefied trance, Bubbles immediately bent down to pick up some pages while Buttercup exclaimed, "What the fuck?!".

Bunny sighed, annoyed that she would have to go through the trouble of explaining to her two shocked sisters. "Well…".

After the rather lengthy explanations, Bunny's annoyance grew almost as much as her two sisters' immense shock raised.

"How the hell did that thief get a hold of the pages in the first place?!" Buttercup yelled, eyebrows furrowed.

Bunny looked at her uninterestingly, "That's what I was wondering.".

Bubbles, who was silent up till now, spoke up. "…Maybe… Maybe he was following Blossom's orders?...".

"That would mean he knows where Blossom is!" Buttercup raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Don't get too excited, Buttercup." Bunny drawled, "We don't really know that for sure. And there's also a possibility of this so-called order having been done years in the past.".

"She's right…" Bubbles frowned, looking at their youngest sister.

"Damn." The black-haired girl scowled, "I thought we had a lead!".

"Wait," Buttercup continued, "Are those even the real pages?".

"Aside from being clearly obvious," Bunny nodded in reply, half-lidded eyes staring at the pink page she was holding. "I also checked them myself.".

Her two sisters stared at her. 'When did she get so… impassively blunt?'.

Buttercup voiced out their thoughts, and Bunny paused in fiddling with a stack of papers.

"…What are you talking about? I've always been like this."

Bubbles frowned in concern, "No, you're not. We know you, Bunny...".

Bunny's amethyst eyes were overshadowed by her bangs, "No, you don't.".

"Yes, we do!" Buttercup furrowed her eyebrows as she scowled, feeling a headache coming as the last of her thin patience snapped. "Admit it, Bunny! You've changed!".

Bubbles gasped, looking at their black-haired sister in shock, "Buttercup! Don't force her! Remember what you told me-".

"Oh, fuck that!" Buttercup growled out, "You're not the only ones affected, Bunny! We're your sisters! We're supposed to help you! How the fuck are we supposed to help you when you keep your damn mouth shut?!".

Bubbles stood up, "Buttercup, that's enough!".

"No, you're too damn soft, Bubbles!" Buttercup angrily yelled, "She won't allow us to help when she clearly needs it! In fact, I'm not even sure she's still Bunny anymore!".

"I'm still me!"

A loud shout made them turn towards the brunette in front of them, her eyes still hidden.

They were both silenced.

Bunny never shouted at them.

Both Bubbles and Buttercup were stunned even more as they heard faint sniffs and sobs. Bunny was… crying?

That wasn't right.

The last time Bunny cried was when she was _ten_.

Both of them felt their chest become heavier.

The brunette finally turned her face towards them, her purple eyes clouded with tears threatening to spill as she shouted again, "I'm still me! I'm still Bunny!... Aren't I?...".

The two elder sisters felt their hearts tighten as Bunny's sobs became more profound, faster and louder. A single tear slid on her cheek, followed by another, and another, until she was openly crying now.

"I haven't changed, right? I'm still me! I didn't change, I'm still Bunny! Bunny Utonium! That's me! I'm Bunny, right? Tell me I'm right! Tell me, tell me I'm Bunny!"

Bubbles stepped forward and pulled the rambling girl into a hug, making soothing noises as she stroked her soft brown locks.

Aquamarine eyes stared at Peridot eyes.

It was only now that they both saw just how much their sister was keeping it all in.

She was bottling up all her feelings and emotions, keeping her pent-up problems all to herself.

And the result was Bunny practically going mad with identity crisis.

"Shh, shh, Bunny, It's alright. Don't cry, your beautiful eyes will be ruined. Shh…" Bubbles gently murmured to her sobbing youngest sister as Buttercup clenched her fists, gritting her teeth as she stared down at the floor, hard.

A sniffling Bunny was surprised to find a sudden hand atop her head, and she looked up to find the embarrassed face of her second eldest and toughest sister looking away.

Bubbles softly smiled, "See Bunny? We're here for you. Even if you don't know or want it…".

"Yeah, so stop crying…" Buttercup 'tched', her cheeks flushing pink. "God, this is so hard… and not to mention humiliating…".

Bunny sniffled one last time before giggling quietly.

She knew that that's just the way her black-haired sister is. Buttercup had a hard time openly showing her feelings, and Bunny could imagine how **difficult** this was for her.

Bubbles gently wiped the brunette's tears away with a handkerchief, "Oh, your pretty eyes are ruined now!".

Buttercup scoffed, "Well, at least she'll look cool wearing dark shades.".

Bunny giggled louder as Bubbles rolled her blue eyes, yet smiled nonetheless.

Even Buttercup was forced to crack a crooked grin.

"…You know…" Bunny's voice was hoarse from crying, "…I… think that crying… actually made me feel better…".

"Of course it did." Bubbles replied, grabbing a glass of water for her to drink, "It's unhealthy to keep to yourself!"

Bunny let her eyes fall down to the carpeted floors.

"…Are you awake?"

Her sudden question startled her sisters.

Bunny, ignoring their looks, continued to speak just as Buttercup opened her mouth, about to speak.

"Bacause I am." The brunette kept her head down, "Ever since my near-death-experience, I've been awakened and am slowly remembering…".

"Bunny," Bubbles stared at her, "What are you talking about?".

Bunny took a deep breath, "I'm talking about us, our hidden memories of the past, our sealed selves!".

It was silent for a second before Buttercup raised a brow, "Maybe you should cry again. You're still rambling nonsense.".

"Aargh!" Bunny ran a hand through her hair in exasperation, "Look, answer me this: What do you remember when we were ten?".

Both elder sisters opened their mouths to answer, but was shocked when they both could not speak.

"I…" Bubbles widened her eyes, "I… can… not… think of anything…".

Bunny nodded seriously, "And before that? Of our lives when we were even younger?".

She took their stunned silence as her answer.

Nothing.

A complete, utter blank.

"What…" Bubbles barely gasped, "What does this mean?...".

Buttercup was currently shocked into silence.

That shows just how serious their situation was.

"It means…" Bunny bit her lip, steeling herself. "It means that the Professor, and also Blossom, owes us explanations.".

And then she launched into what would later be dubbed as "The-speech-that-managed-to-make-'The Toughest Fighter'-actually-faint.".

* * *

"The only things Bunny could ever kill are sweets, chocolates, and my remaining brain cells." The black-haired Utonium deadpanned, "Especially if her 'weapon' is her annoying big mouth.".

"Hey!" Bunny pouted, offended. "My mouth isn't annoying! Nor is it big!".

Buttercup ignored her, "I find it hard to believe that Bunny is an assassin, and apparently, a skilled master of the black ops too.".

"**Was** an assassin!" Bunny corrected with a huff. "…At least, I think I was… maybe I was just acting? But I don't think I was… it all seemed so real… besides, it's not just me, all four of us were…".

"At ten years old?" Buttercup raised a brow, she could feel her head pounding in pain. "I don't think so.".

"Well, it does sound absolutely impossible, Bunny…" Bubbles stated, feeling a headache coming herself.

"Tell that to the whole reason why we're in a luxurious hotel in Venice and not in our comfy quaint little house back in Townsville." Bunny suddenly deadpanned, eyes half-lidded. "And don't forget also the reason I've been having an identity crisis, what with all the newly unsealed memories suddenly returning to me, and all the stupid cryptic messages scattered all throughout Blossom's journal.".

The two elder sisters stared at her, eyes wide and blinking.

They could not get used to this bipolar-like Bunny.

Bubbles blinked, seeming to realize something.

"Wait, cryptic messages?"

Bunny merely gave them a bored look.

Buttercup frowned, "Why didn't I notice them before?!".

Their brown-haired sister rolled her amethyst purple eyes.

"Because they're hidden in the first place, genius."

Buttercup gritted her teeth, glaring at her brunette sister. "I liked you better back when you weren't so irritatingly blunt.".

"Too bad." The youngest Utonium sounded entirely unapologetic. "Deal with it."

Bubbles decided to intervene before the situation got out of hand, "Did you find out what those messages contain?".

Bunny shrugged, "How should I know? Since Bloss currently isn't here, deciphering falls to the second most skilled decoder of us, which is **you**.".

Bubbles squeaked, "M-Me? B-But I-".

"Still have your memories sealed." Bunny interrupted her, rolling her purple eyes. "So does Buttercup, for that matter.".

Before their fiercest sister could utter a single word, ever-so peace-loving Bubbles beat her to it, mostly to avoid another verbal spat.

"But that still doesn't explain why we can't seem to do what we are able to do ten years ago…"

Bunny hummed, actually taking a minute to think. "I guess having your memories sealed also equals to having your 'supposed' skills and abilities sealed as well."

Buttercup groaned, rubbing her temples. "Wait a minute, just… wait. How are we even sure that those memories of yours aren't just nightmares, or something?".

Bunny deeply sighed, closing her eyes.

"I… know that this is all hard to take in, to accept… but, just trust me, okay? I have this feeling… just… trust me.".

Bubbles' eyes softened, "Oh Bunny, we do trust you.".

Buttercup looked away, but nodded.

Bunny rubbed her temples, irritation seeping into her expression, "We're straying from the original subject…".

"What were we talking about anyway?" Bubbles asked, blinking once.

Buttercup held up a single pink journal page between her index and middle fingers, "It's about these stupid pages, and how did it get into the hands of a thief.".

"A _suspicious_ thief." Bunny murmured, but everyone heard her.

"Perhaps we should read the next page?" Bubbles offered, "It might contain something helpful…".

"Best idea I've heard all day…" Buttercup muttered, unceremoniously plopping down on the floor.

They may not look like it, but all three Utonium sisters were dead tired. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

* * *

_**Wednesday, April 24**__**th**_

_I must admit, my trip to Venice was not as exciting as I thought it would._

_My mind was still preoccupied about what occurred the last time Brick and I met._

_Not even the magnificent sights Venice has to offer could distract me._

_I sighed, and was just about to leave for my hotel when I stopped in my tracks._

_In front of me stood two unfamiliar people._

_A scowling girl and a bored-looking boy._

_That wouldn't have bothered me, if it weren't for the fact that the area was currently empty except for the three of us, and the fact that they were studying me with clear hostility displayed on their faces._

"_Are you sure she's our target?" The girl asked to her partner. "She looks weak and pathetic, I can't understand what they would want with her!"._

_I inwardly gulped at the girl's tone as she continued to glare at me. She was actually rather pretty, with long wavy light blonde hair and dark blue-green eyes. Too bad her scowl ruined her beauty. _

_But I was more interested in her words, what did she mean?_

"_Yes, I'm sure." Her partner answered with clear boredom in his monotone voice. "And I don't know why they want her, nor do I care."._

_He was also rather attractive like his partner, with him having a tall structure, curly dark brown hair, and half-lidded pale blue eyes._

"_You're useless!" The girl sneered harshly but her partner looked unaffected. "Let's just get this over with!"._

"_You!" She turned towards me and pointed at me, "You're coming with us!"._

_I jumped, starting to panic. I was all alone, which means no help at all available. Calling the police on my phone wouldn't work either; I would be kidnapped long before they would actually get here. Running was also not an option; both the girl and the guy looked like fast runners._

"_Why? What do you want with me?"._

"_Us? Nothing." The girl scoffed, "Our stupid employers? Who knows."._

_Employers? Did that mean that they were hired? But if so, then who hired them?_

"_Come on!" The girl spat, slowly reaching into one of the pockets of her leather jacket and pulled out… a gun! "As I said, you're coming with us! Whether you like it or not!"._

_Ignoring that rather cliché line, I focused on the gun she was pointing at me with. _

_I wasn't afraid of dying, it was clear that they need me alive._

_A tiny bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face as I tried to control my shaking hands._

_I was more focused on them capturing me without any injuries; the girl looked like she had no self-control whatsoever._

"_Can you hurry it up?" Her partner actually dared to yawn at a time like this, "I don't have all day."._

"_Don't you think I know that?" The girl shouted, "This would be a lot faster if you didn't just stand there and be useless!"._

"_Well, I wouldn't have to do anything if you didn't need me." Her partner drawled. I must admit, he did have a point there. "You're as intimidating as a kitten."._

_The girl snarled and hit him in the stomach, but he seemed unfazed. Actually, he seemed a bit amused._

"_We would have been finished hours ago, but we need her alive!" The girl screeched at him, "Go make yourself useful and knock her out!"._

_The guy rolled his eyes and turned around, walking leisurely towards where I stood. "Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a twist."._

_The girl screamed, and I concentrated on the gun in her hand. I prayed that she doesn't lose control; these two seemed to have no teamwork whatsoever._

_The last thing I saw before blacking out was the tall guy's bored face and his partner's sneering smirk._

* * *

"Blossom's been kidnapped!?" Buttercup roared, standing up.

"Okay, I'm starting to regret suggesting reading the pages." Bubbles whimpered, hiding her face on her palms.

"I know what you're thinking Buttercup," Bunny frowned. "Yes, she's apparently kidnapped, but that's not the reason why she's disappeared. Look at the date.".

Bubbles gasped, "But this was about three years before her last visit to us back at home!".

"Exactly." Bunny nodded. "This means she got away from them or was rescued. Either way, this wasn't why she's currently gone.".

"But if that's not the reason…" Buttercup narrowed her green eyes, "Then what?".

"That's what we're trying to find out." Bunny sighed, closing her eyes and leaning on the bedpost. "We have to keep reading.".

"Oh, I hope Blossom's alright…" Bubbles cried.

Bunny fought a twitch. She wished that both her sisters also recovered their memories. She would rather work with the calm yet strong Bubbles ten years ago rather than this current soft and weak Bubbles.

"Remember, Blossom was able to visit us years after this." Buttercup spoke up, trying to calm Bubbles down. Bunny felt that her words were also for Buttercup herself. "She'll be fine.".

"I know, but I'm still afraid to read what happened next…" Bubbles whimpered again, hugging a soft pillow.

Bunny sighed, she was really missing her sisters' stronger past selves.

She even thought that they both had de-matured as they grew up…

Bunny suddenly had a thought; did Blossom too recover her memories?

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS:**

**Famiglia (Family)**

* * *

**Me: This is rated T for a reason.**

…**Wow… that's a really long intro… **

**I think the intro's even longer than the rest of the chapter…**

**Sorry if the intro disturbed/confused some of you, but I had to introduce parts of the workings of the Mafia. I wanted to palm my face, I made the Mafia sound militaristic and made them look like spy organizations! Like cliché!**

**As Beast said, and I quote, "Ah well.".**

**Yep, the scraggly-looking thief was a 'she'.**

**A rather pretty 'she'.**

**Looks can be deceiving.**

**Also, mafia families seem to have a thing for double doors inside their extremely large and luxurious mansions.**

**Yes, Beast always pauses when referring to Minerva as his right-hand woman. Why? No one knows.**

**And no, Minerva is not the sister I was referring to in chapter 5 (IV) and 6 (V).**

**Oh, props to whoever finds out what makes the (pardon the rather lame/idiotic name) Muinotu Famiglia special, and how Cathlin and Caitlin are familiar… *Hint: check chapter 4 (III)***

**The De Leon Famiglia…**

…**was supposed to be just an extra background-unimportant family. I don't know why or how they advanced into a more important role! *Cries* I blame Dylan!**

**Ah, Cathlin and Dylan… am I sensing the beginning of something here? *Wink* *Wink***

**Also, doesn't Bunny's 'new self/personality' remind you of a certain other brunette? A certain other brunette with purple eyes? *Grin***

**You guys should check my journal at my profile often for some news and announcements; never know when I'll have one…**

**Yes, as I have said, my updates will take extremely longer from now on. Sorry if this chapter took too long, I was very busy! Also, I wasn't really satisfied with this chapter, particularly the part where the sisters deal with the recent revelations of their sealed memories. I felt that they easily accepted it? Ah well.**

* * *

***SPOILERS***

**Blossom's finally made an appearance. **

**(Other than in her journal entries and flashbacks, of course.)**

**She appeared in this chapter, all the while staying hidden.**

**And sorry, but I'm not telling which part of this chapter she appeared at.**

…**I just hope it wasn't obvious…**


	8. VII

Terzo mentally sighed, leaning on a brick wall that was only a few meters distance from a quaint little café.

He crossed his arms, continuing to observe a certain little blonde girl that was sitting alone on one of the café's tables, deeply pondering.

If only he knew what she was thinking about…

He frowned at that, usually he could read people like an open book. But when it came to her…

Tilting his head, he watched as the blonde suddenly shook her head, as if contradicting herself. As if she was having a deep conversation with herself.

Oh, what he would give to know her thoughts…

She looked so focused on her thoughts that she was completely blocking out her surroundings.

In fact, she looked so childish.

How cute.

The corners of his mouth quirked up at that.

'It's been a while.'

His uncovered sapphire blue eyes took notice of how she idly fiddled with her phone that was sitting on top of the café table.

Tilting his head again, he hummed to himself.

He never did call, did he?...

* * *

**RETRACING STEPS**

* * *

Bubbles sighed for the umpteenth time this morning, her hands absentmindedly fiddling with her phone as she sat at one of the tables at a quaint little café she decided to stop by and rest.

Her mind was currently focused on what she and her sisters had just read…

* * *

_**Thursday, April 25**__**th**_

_I don't know why, but instead of waking up in a jolt like what should commonly happen to kidnapped people, I woke up with closed eyes and opened senses._

_Before I dared to reveal that I was awake, I used my senses to scan if my surroundings were safe. _

_I pushed those curious thoughts for later, maybe when I wasn't kidnapped anymore._

_Deciding it was safe, I slowly opened my eyes while keeping my body absolutely still, and I found myself staring at the roof of a frilly pink poster bed._

_I also found myself confused._

_I find my abductor/s really generous and kind if he/she/they let me sleep in a bed this comfortable (I scanned the rest of the rather spacious room, it matched the bed.) and a room this nice. While I wasn't sure about that, what I was sure of was that my abductor/s was/were rich, and I mean really rich. The room I was currently locked in (I didn't dare to check the door. There might be guards stationed. That, and it's really obvious that the door would be locked anyway.) looked as nice as a five-star hotel room._

_Sitting up into a more comfortable position, I instantly saw that that was a bad thing to do as sounds of footsteps and motions could be heard from outside the door and I knew they knew I was awake. A second later, the door opened to reveal four men that, excluding the obvious lone bodyguard, I could tell were my so-called 'abductors'._

_I had to confess; my first thought? _

_My abductors were idiots._

_I stayed silent, watching them with careful eyes._

_Well, one reason for that was that other than what they were wearing and their heights, I could absolutely not tell those three apart. In fact, they looked like triplets, clones even, sharing the same boring black hair, unfocused black eyes and pale skin with the odd sickly greenish hue. If they touch me, I __**will**__ neuter them. I __**cannot**__ get sick and miss a day of school! Well, I might as well neuter them now, seeing as their little kidnapping attempt on me caused me to miss school anyway…_

_The guy in the front was obviously the one in charge, as he stepped up and stated, "You're finally awake!"._

_The one on his right nodded and repeated childishly, "Yeah, finally awake!"._

_The guy in the front got annoyed and promptly hit the guy on the right on the head. "Shut up!"._

_The guy on the right bowed his head, "Sorry boss…"._

_Oh my god. _

_My abductors were complete and utter morons._

_The apparent 'boss' turned back towards me and asked, "How are you feeling?"._

_Once again, I stayed silent, opting to just raise a brow instead._

_Did he seriously just ask me that?_

"_Hey boss," The one on the left spoke up, "Maybe she'll talk if Alonzo were gone? You know, make her feel comfortable…"._

_The one on the right nodded, "Yeah, Alonzo is pretty scary…"._

_Figuring that this 'Alonzo' was the bodyguard's name, I mentally shook my head. Those three can make a cute little bunny rabbit seem 'pretty scary'._

_The boss hummed, rubbing his chin in contemplation. "Hmm, maybe you're right…". He turned towards the bodyguard in the far back, "Alonzo, stand guard outside."._

_Alonzo merely nodded and left, following his boss' orders._

_The boss turned back towards me, "Well, now that he's gone, why don't you talk?"._

_I still stayed quiet._

"_Well, maybe she'll talk if she knows our names?" The guys on the left suggested again, getting another nod from the guy on the right._

_I blinked at them; they were utterly horrible at this._

"_Good idea." The boss agreed and turned towards me, he was of a medium height and wore a gray fedora._

"_I am Bossman!"_

_The next one to speak was the tallest and skinniest of the three and wore a brown fedora._

"_I am Slim!"_

_The last one to speak was the smallest and shortest, the little one, and wore a black cap._

"_I am Junior!"_

_The boss, Bossman, spoke up next, "And I am the boss of the Malattia Famiglia!"._

_I blinked._

'_The Disease Family'? What a horrible name!_

_But wait, what did he mean by 'Famiglia'? It sounds oddly like a…_

"_You guys aren't in the Mafia, are you?"_

_I was starting to regret watching 'The Godfather' movie with Buttercup. Well, it was her turn to decide what to watch on movie night…_

_But to my utter shock and disbelief, the three just stood straight and put up their chins, "Ha, I knew you would recognize us! I mean, who wouldn't? We're the Malattia Famiglia after all!"._

_Junior nodded, "Yeah, we're the Malattia Famiglia after all!"._

_Slim tilted his head a bit stupidly, "Does this mean we're famous?"._

_Famous? With names (Both their apparent Famiglia name and their own names) like those? I mentally raised a brow. Try infamous._

_But still, I couldn't believe it._

"_I don't believe you." I spoke up, "You're just joking, right?"._

"_No way!" Junior glared at me rather weakly, "We're the real deal missy!"._

'_Missy'? I was older than the boy!_

"_Come on!" I crossed my arms, "You can't just expect me to believe you three are the heads of a Mafia family! I mean, if you three were in the mafia, then that would make you-"._

"_Criminals?" Bossman cut me off with a smirk, "Why yes, we are. And we're not just any criminals too, we're among the most villainous too!"._

_Junior repeated, "Yeah, among the most villainous!"._

_Still having doubts, I could not help but say, "If you're among the most villainous, then why haven't I heard of you before?"._

_This was apparently the wrong thing to say, as all three broke down and started to complain and rant, "That's because of all the 'upper' families! Those stupid famous families are stealing all the fame away from us 'lesser' families!"._

_Yep, they were looking less and less like a real Mafia family by the second. _

It's idiots like them that give the Mafia a bad name.

_I blinked. _

_Where did that come from?_

_I was snapped out of my thoughts when Bossman turned around to face me again. He pointed to me wearing an evil grin, "But now that we have you as our hostage, we'll be able to take down the top Mafia family by force!". Junior and Slim nodded and encouraged him, "Yeah!". Bossman raised a fist in the air, "Malattia will be the number one Mafia family in the world! We'll be able to replace that hateful Muinotu Famiglia once and for all!"._

_I mentally palmed my face; those three were looking more and more comical. I'm barely even able to take them seriously…_

"_And just how am I involved in all of this, exactly?" I asked, staring at them incredulously. "I don't even belong in the Mafia! I'm just a normal 16 year-old girl!"._

_Bossman grinned, "Ah, but once we let the Muinotu Famiglia's boss know that we have you, he will surely bow down to us as you are his weakness, for you, Blossom Utonium, are his girlfriend!"._

_I gaped at them._

"_Alright, now I know that you're just joking." I blinked in disbelief. "I don't have a boyfriend, I'm still single! And even if I do have a boyfriend, I'd think I know if he were the boss of this so-called 'top Mafia family in the world'!". "You must have the wrong girl!" I added with an almost pleading tone._

"_Uh-uh! Don't even try to deny it!" Bossman wiggled his pointer finger._

"_Yeah! Don't even try to deny it!" Junior repeated as Slim nodded, "Yeah, we have imte… intenigence… intellegens… we have info!"._

"_Really?" I rolled my eyes, leaning forward on my chin on the back of the palm of my hand. "Do tell."._

_Bossman smirked, crossing his arms, so sure of himself. _

"_Our top agents have spied you several times on your dates with Muinotu's boss!"._

_Slim added, "We have pictures!"._

_I rolled my eyes again._

"_Please, I haven't been on any dates! The only times closest I could call as dates was when I was with-" I stopped myself._

_No._

_No way._

_They couldn't possibly be talking about…_

_But then that would answer all my unanswered questions… confirm all my doubts…_

_Just to confirm, I asked them._

"_J-Just" I sighed deeply, "Just who exactly is Muinotu's boss?..."._

"_Geez, don't you know your own boyfriend's name?" Bossman raised a brow and looked at me weirdly. "Of course it's Brick!"._

_I stayed silent._

_Deep within the clashing disbelief, confusion, denial, there lies a hint of acceptance._

_After all, Denial starts with realization of the truth._

* * *

Bubbles shook her head.

As unbelievable as it sounds, what they read on Blossom's journal certainly answered some questions plaguing their minds.

Like what was happening with Bunny recently…

What Bunny had said on their first day in Italy had come true.

_"Actually," Bunny quipped, "There is the Mafia, more appropriately the Sicilian Mafia, since we're here in Italy."._

Bubbles sighed again.

With what they had just found out, there was no room for denial.

Bubbles pursed her lips.

Their problem was what were they going to do about it?

She was broken out of her ponderings when her phone that she was idly clutching in her hands suddenly vibrated, and she jumped in her seat as she struggled to catch it. Finally getting a hold of her phone, she calmed herself before answering it.

"Hello?"

"Bubbles!" The familiar smiling voice at the other end of the line surprised her. Out of all the possible people who would call her, she was not expecting **him** to call! "Sorry, I never did call, did I?".

"T-Terzo!" Bubbles squeaked, cheeks adopting a pink tint. "I-It's okay, I-I mean you must have been busy, being a pianist and all…".

"But that was no excuse not to call you!" Terzo whined childishly, making Bubbles inwardly giggle. "I was afraid you would be mad at me!".

"I could never be mad at you!" Bubbles smiled, "And besides, I too was busy recently…".

"Really?"

Bubbles nodded, "Mhm!".

"Phew!" Terzo sighed in relief, making her giggle. "I'm so relieved! I was even prepared to beg in apology! Want to hear my speech?".

"You're so silly!" Bubbles giggled.

"Ne, what's so funny?"

Bubbles screamed, suddenly standing up and struggling to catch her phone that she threw in the air in her surprise.

The last line did **not** come from her phone.

Gasping, Bubbles turned around only to come face-to-face with twinkling sapphire blue eyes that belonged to the guy that she was having a conversation on the phone with.

Terzo watched her with amused eyes, still clutching his phone next to his ear.

"Terzo!" Bubbles yelled, clutching a hand to her heart, her pulse racing. And for more reasons than one.

"That's my name!" Terzo grinned, closing his phone and placing it in his pants pocket and taking a seat in front of the breathless blonde. "But now I got why you were laughing, Bubbles! You're so funny!".

Bubbles pouted, sitting back down. "That wasn't very nice. You almost gave me a heart attack!".

Terzo seemed unfazed, continuing to grin brightly.

"Don't worry! If that happened, I wouldn't hesitate to perform CPR on you."

Bubbles blushed, her pink cheeks turning red.

Red…

* * *

_**Friday, April 26**__**th**_

_My abductors had been very lenient with me, giving me freedom to write in my journal and pretty much anything else so long as I don't leave this room._

_My abductors were complete and utter morons._

_But even though they were idiots, they managed to convince me that they weren't just playing a prank on me._

_As much as I hated to admit it, they were right._

_What solidified it was what happened yesterday, right after the 'great revelation'._

_Bossman grabbed his cellphone and dialed, "Right, it's time to put our plan into action!"._

_I was still in denial then, I just silently watched as those three waited for the call to connect with unashamed anticipation._

_It was a few seconds later that the call was answered, though by an unfamiliar voice. It dashed my hopes up that this was all just a very elaborate prank (That was most likely all planned by Buttercup)._

"_Yes?"_

_The voice was impassive, to the point of sounding bored, but my abductors weren't deterred in their excitement._

"_This is the boss of Malattia," Bossman spoke up, the grin on his face widening by the second. "I would like to speak to Mr. Muinotu."_

"_And what business do you have with the boss?"_

"_Oh, just tell him that I have something of his that I'm sure he would want back safe and unharmed…" Junior and Slim gave Bossman a 'thumbs up', which inflated his ego even more. I rolled my eyes as Bossman raised his chin up._

"_Please wait a moment," The unfamiliar voice droned, as if used to getting these types of calls. "I will speak to the boss."._

_Bossman removed the phone from his ear and grinned, "It's working, boys! The plan is working!". "Yes!" Slim and Junior grinned excitedly, bouncing like little kids on Christmas eve._

"_Oh boy…" I rolled my eyes once again, feeling a headache coming._

_The other end of the line was picked up once again, this time by a __**very**__ familiar voice. The very familiar voice that sent me all sorts of reminiscences just by hearing it. _

_As it was, my denial state was slowly cracking._

"_Don't waste my time, this had better be important." _

_The deep voice growled out, impatient and obviously annoyed._

_I shook my head, eyes wide._

_No, no… It can't be… T-They just have the same voice…_

_Bossman nodded, practically babbling in his eagerness. "Oh yes, of course, it's important! Very important! Very, very important!"._

"_Get on with it." The voice ordered, irritated and wanting to hurry this up._

"_Well, I have here with me someone very close to you, Mr. Muinotu…" Grinning, Bossman tried to speak very nonchalantly, but failed. Quite horribly, I might add. "We have here with us… your girlfriend!"._

"_How cliché." The voice drawled, sounding unimpressed. "I'm hanging up."._

"_No, no, I'm telling you the truth!" Bossman rushed, sounding frantic as he made his way over to me. "Here, I'll let her talk to you!"._

_He then promptly shoved the phone to my ear, and I had to compose myself as I was going to speak to the very familiar voice. I took a deep breath._

_When I spoke, my voice sounded breathless._

"_Brick."_

_Silence reigned in for a few minutes before Brick replied, this time sounding stunned and incredulous._

"_Blossom?..."_

_I sighed, "Yes, it's me, and I'm still hated by the winds."._

_This was the confirmation Brick needed and he immediately exploded, "Blossom, are you alright? Did those bastards hurt you? So help me if they did..."._

_I interrupted him, "I believe you." I smiled a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. "I believe you… even if you didn't tell me anyway."._

"_Blossom-"_

_Before Brick could say any more, Bossman interrupted and took back his phone._

"_So, Mr. Muinotu…" Bossman spoke casually, "Do you believe me yet?"._

"_YOU BASTARDS!" Brick roared, cursing strings of profanities that made Bossman and his men cringe and wince. I actually blushed._

"_Now, now, Mr. Muinotu!" Bossman grinned evilly, "You listen to us, understand? I'm sure you would want your little girlfriend back in one piece…"._

_I actually shivered at Bossman's tone of voice, he was acting more and more like a Mafia boss by the second._

_Brick growled at him, "I swear, Malattia, if she's harmed in any possible way…"._

"_Yes, yes, but I'm sure you understand that we have the upper hand in this situation, not you Rosso!" Bossman huffed, carelessly waving Brick's threats away._

'_Rosso'? I blinked. 'Red'? Is that supposed to be a nickname?_

"_Anyway, we will just have to discuss the terms of your family resigning from your spot at the top and giving it to my family later." Bossman smirked, followed by Slim and Junior. "And don't you dare do anything drastic, otherwise your little girlfriend might not survive… She's completely at my mercy now, and don't you forget it!"._

_Bossman hanged up._

_At the same time, my denial completely broke._

* * *

"Bubbles?" Terzo spoke up, studying Bubbles with curious eyes.

Bubbles snapped out of her thoughts, "Oh, sorry, w-what was that?".

"I said the waitress is coming." Terzo repeated, motioning towards the petite brunette wearing a frilly pink apron making her way over to where they both sat.

The waitress smiled cheerfully, taking out a small notepad and a pen. "Hi there, may I take your order?" She chirped.

Terzo smiled back politely, "Just an iced tea for me. Bubbles?" He motioned to the still-not-quite-out-of-it blonde sitting across from him.

Bubbles blinked, her eyes scanning the café's menu lying atop their table that she quickly grabbed. "Oh… I'll have a blueberry milkshake please.".

The café's waitress smiled, nodding.

"Will there be anything else?" She asked, to which both Bubbles and Terzo shook their heads to.

"Alright, I'll be back with your drinks in a quick!" She nodded again, writing down their orders. She bent to collect the menus, when Bubbles picked up a rather distinguishing scent.

"I like your perfume!" Bubbles smiled at the waitress.

The waitress grinned back, "Oh, no, I'm not wearing any perfume; it's the new peach-cream mulberry lip-gloss!". She then whispered to Bubbles, "You should try it, I'm sure your cute boyfriend would love it.".

"W-Wha…" Bubbles blushed as the waitress laughed, leaving with a conspiratory wink.

Terzo blinked, "What was that about?".

"Oh…" Bubbles rolled her eyes, blush still evident. "Just girl stuff.".

"Ah…" Terzo nodded, as if that explained everything.

An awkward silence then swept between them, with Terzo content to just watch a blushing Bubbles with a smile on his face.

Bubbles couldn't meet him eye to eye, opting instead to watch the surroundings, the people bustling in and out as they continued on their busy lives.

Her thoughts drifted back to another recent journal entry…

* * *

_**Monday, April 29**__**th**_

_It's been about five days since I was kidnapped, and I was trying hard not to abandon the hope of getting out of here._

_All hope of escaping this place was seriously falling –and fast._

_I sat on the frilly bed, hugging my knees as I closed my eyes._

"_Looks like I'll never get out of here…" I whispered to myself._

_Bossman was currently pacing back and forth, Slim and Junior futilely trying to calm him down._

"_It's been five days!" Bossman shouted, both hands tearing at his hair. "And still nothing!"._

"_Yeah, still nothing!" Junior repeated, receiving a blow to the head as punishment._

"_Maybe we should give them some more time, boss?" Slim suggested._

"_No, Muinotu's probably found another girl already…" Bossman huffed._

_I wouldn't admit it aloud, but his words stung. Hard._

_Bossman turned towards me with a glare, "Looks like you won't be leaving here alive…"._

_The door to the room suddenly burst open as if an explosion occurred, startling everyone, and a deep voice chuckled next to Bossman's ear._

"_Now, don't say that. If she dies, we'll kill you. And then we'll be killed too at the hands of our berserk bro."_

_Before anyone could move, Bossman's crumpled form was laying down onto the floor, unconscious, the same with Slim and Junior too._

_I stared with wide eyes at the madly grinning guy that stood, with his hand still raised in the air, behind Bossman's fallen form. He looked familiar somehow, with him having chaotic darker-than-black hair spiking dangerously in all directions, his bangs partially covering his intense emerald green eyes. He was grinning rather animalistically._

"_Hmph, how boring." He spoke, running a hand through his untamable hair. "It'd be more fun if they were dead."._

_I blinked, horrified. _

_But not because of what you would think. I was strangely unaffected by what he had said, and that horrified me._

_Another voice spoke up, alerting me to the others in the room. I noticed that more and more black-clothed men swarmed into the room, carrying guns and numerous other weapons as they checked the room._

"_Please don't talk like that!" Another guy sighed, having similarities with the first guy. This one had wavy light blond hair ending in soft spikes framing his face, his parted bangs revealing his concentrated sapphire blue eyes. He looked exasperated with the first guy, not that I could blame him._

"_Did you forget the reason why we had you knock them unconscious instead of killing them?" He stated to the first guy, "We don't want you scaring Blossom away!"._

_I kept quiet, as if I wasn't near them and could hear every word they spoke._

_I inwardly rolled my eyes._

_Actually, I was more scared of the fact that they knew my name._

_The blond guy turned towards me and seemed to be checking me for injuries, "You look fine, but are you alright?"._

_I merely nodded._

_The guy with black hair blinked boredly at me._

"_Dude, I think she's scared of you."_

_The blond guy turned his head to glare at him._

"_What?" The first guy shrugged, "I would too, if some random guy I don't know approached me and suddenly asked me if I was alright. It's kinda creepy, actually."._

_The blond guy suddenly turned back towards me, eyebrows curved in apology. "Oh, sorry! My name's Boomer while the guy behind me is my idiotic brother, Butch."._

"'_Sup." Butch spoke up, his attention not really directed at me._

_I composed myself with a sigh, "Well, I guess you already know my name…"._

_Boomer smiled gently at me, helping me up. "Don't worry, we're here to rescue you!"._

"_Yeah, our bro wouldn't stop barking orders about this." Butch rolled his eyes, "I practically went deaf!"._

_I blinked, my mind quickly making the connections. The only one other than me and my abductors that knew about this would be…_

"_You know Brick?"_

_Butch scoffed, "Know him? Please, that guy's mind is a maze!"._

_His blond brother elbowed him, "Be nice!". Boomer turned back towards me, smiling apologetically. "He's our older brother."._

"_Oh…" Blinking again, I remembered all the times I spent with Brick._

"_I pity you."_

_Boomer's face fell. _

_"Everyone does…"_

_Butch barked out a laugh, lightly slapping me on the shoulder. "I like you!"._

"_Better not let Brick hear that." A voice drawled as another guy suddenly made his way over to us, looking like Butch and Boomer. Unlike them, however, this smaller guy had messy soft coffee brown hair almost touching his shoulders and framing his face, his messy bangs partially obscuring his half-lidded tanzanite purple eyes._

_Boomer smiled as he gestured towards the newcomer, "Blossom, this is our younger brother, Beast."._

_Beast merely nodded to me._

_He then turned towards his brothers, "So big bro's girlfriend (I blushed slightly at that.) is safe and all the enemies are incapacitated. Can we go home now?"._

_Boomer nodded, more to me than his younger brother though, "Yeah. C'mon Blossom, we're taking you to a safer place."._

"_The sooner the better." Butch scoffed, "And make sure Brick sees his girlfriend first. (I blushed darker.) I do __**not**__ want to come back home to be yelled at."._

* * *

Just as Terzo was about to open his mouth and break the silence, the café's waitress came back with their drinks.

"Wow," Terzo commented as both he and Bubbles blinked. "You weren't joking when you said you'll be back in a quick.".

"Of course!" The waitress grinned, "I'm a professional!".

"Just call me if you need anything else." With that, the waitress swiftly left.

Silence reigned in again, this time with an air of comfort, as both were content to just simply watch each other slowly take small sips of their drinks.

"This is actually pretty good…" Terzo spoke, lightly tapping his tall glass of iced tea. "Want some?".

"Oh, no thanks." Bubbles smiled, taking one huge sip of her own drink.

"So…" Just as Terzo was about to speak again, he was interrupted by Bubbles coughing lightly once, then twice. Bubbles then started coughing more and more, falling out of her seat, her coughs getting worse and worse to the point of Terzo quickly standing up and making his way over to her.

"Bubbles, are you okay?!" He asked in desperate concern, as a crowd of people began to form.

"Somebody call for help!" He shouted, and a few people complied, taking out their phones.

Bubbles suddenly went still.

"Bubbles, hang in there!" Terzo shouted, getting more and more frantic as he took out his own phone, dialing as quickly as his fingers would allow.

Luckily for them, an ambulance came quickly and was able to swiftly take Bubbles to the nearest hospital.

The mass of curious spectators crowded around the ambulance, and still lingered to talk and gossip amongst themselves about what had just occurred.

Terzo stood up, grabbing a tissue and taking hold of Bubble's drink, examining it with narrowed eyes.

'Poison.' He thought, 'And a unique self-concoction too.'.

Carefully throwing it into a nearby garbage bin, he promptly took out his phone once more.

It took only a few seconds for the person on the other end of the line to pick up.

A small 'click' was heard, followed by a familiar deep, impassive voice.

"What?"

* * *

"NO! FOR THE LAST TIME, I WILL NOT GO OUT WITH YOU!"

Buttercup huffed, panting as she threw her phone to the ground.

If there were other people nearby, they would've been staring at her in either curiosity or fear. Probably both.

'I've changed my number at least five times this week!' The black-haired Utonium thought angrily, bending to pick up her phone. 'How the hell does that bastard keep calling me?!'.

_Connections._

Buttercup immediately stood up straight, whipping her head left and right. "Who the hell said that?!" She spat, still feeling irritated, as she scanned the empty surroundings only to find nothing.

"Hmph." Raising a brow, she huffed, staring at her phone she held in her hand with narrowed eyes. "Maybe I should've thrown you into the water instead.". As if to prove her point, she turned her body to face the deathly still Venetian waters, the exact place where Bunny _almost_ drowned. She couldn't help the slight shiver that ran throughout her body. To think that here she was, all alone, in the place where her youngest sister nearly **died**.

She was about to be lost in her thoughts when her phone suddenly vibrated, the glowing screen flashing the one name that you can be sure to get a reaction out of 'The Toughest Fighter'.

"Aaargh!" Buttercup screamed in frustration, promptly hurling her vibrating phone down the dark waters of Venice.

'Why can't that moron get a clue!' She thought, plopping down to the ground.

'I will not go out with that idiot!' Buttercup thought, scowling. '…Again!'

_Don't be so sure about that._

Buttercup raised her head, quickly whipping it around that she practically felt her neck snapping. "Show yourself!" She growled, not in the mood. And besides, she hated being played tricks at. She was clearly all alone, and the black-haired Utonium wondered if she was just hearing things.

"See, he's causing me problems even when he's not here!" Buttercup ran a hand through her messy black hair, "All the more reason for me not to have anything to do with that bastard!".

The voice replied back with a hint of a mocking tone.

_Ah, but you never said 'never'._

Yep, it's official. She's delusional.

Her face reddened, "Then let me say it now! I will n…". She blinked. "I will ne…" Her face was darkening as she strained to say the word.

Buttercup was sure the voice was smirking.

_You can't say it._

'I can too!' Buttercup griped.

_Liar._

Buttercup didn't know why, but she suddenly pictured a little girl with the corner of her lips curling up tauntingly.

'Hmph,' The black-haired Utonium leaned down even more, closer to the dark waters, where her face was being vaguely reflected. 'And what makes you think that when I'm pretty sure you know what happened to me…' The continuation 'In the past, with the ex-boyfriend and the semi-trauma and the living doll-state' went needlessly unsaid.

_That's because he distracts you._

Buttercup blinked, finding no refutes about the statement. She often found herself diverted from her past by her extreme irritation that was easily caused by even with just the bastard's mere name alone.

_Why?_

Buttercup was more focused on why she was actually interacting with the hauntingly-familiar unknown voice.

_He interests you. _

'Yeah, but for an completely different reason!' Buttercup mentally argued, her lips formed into a hard frown. 'There's just something about him, something that's frighteningly familiar and yet entirely not right…'.

But more importantly, Buttercup thought, how the hell did the mysterious voice know? And the way the voice spoke, it sounded like a young girl yet it carried the tone of one who was hardened and carried bellicose prowess.

A disturbing oxymoron.

Buttercup blinked.

…How the hell did she, **herself**, know that?

"Just shut the hell up!" Buttercup growled out, then promptly burying her face on both of her hands. "Oh great, now I'm talking to myself! I swear, if Bunny infected me with her craziness…".

Shaking her head, Buttercup leaned down and gave her face a light splash of the water. 'That should wake me up…' She thought.

Buttercup opted to stare at her broken reflection on the still water some more and was about to stand up when her peridot green eyes spied something, something wrong in the reflection. Leaning down a bit more, she scrutinized the part where the area behind her was reflected and found a particular spot that was continuously growing. It took her seconds to find that it had cleared into a reflection of a girl's face, one that she doesn't recognize. Buttercup narrowed her eyes.

"What the hell–"

Her head was then suddenly plunged deep into the dark Venetian waters courtesy of the fair manicured hand gripping tightly around her neck, obstructing and crushing her throat.

Thrashing around violently, Buttercup tried to free herself but her unknown assailant merely submerged her head deeper under the water. Buttercup gritted her teeth as she desperately held her breath; her attacker was a lot stronger than her and apparently knew how to properly pin down a person. The black-haired Utonium wished she hadn't come to this place.

As if being controlled, the still Venetian waters was overcome with strong torrents of water, the painful stinging sensation prickling deep at Buttercup's tightly closed eyelids. She was already beginning to feel numb and was starting to pale.

She was going to die.

Her mind raced back to past memories, most of which was about her and her sisters.

'Bubbles, Bunny… dammit!' Buttercup inwardly swore, cursing her own weakness and lack of strength. The only reason she strived to be strong in the first place was to protect her sisters, no matter how sappy and cliché it sounded. And now she couldn't, all because she was weak, she was still weak!

…Her sisters…

Buttercup wondered how her sisters would react to her sudden and unexpected –well, she herself surely didn't expect to die– death, if her body was found, that is…

She shivered; she hadn't felt true fear until now.

She wasn't afraid to die –okay, maybe a little bit– no, she was more afraid of how her sisters would take her death, how they would live without her…

She imagined Bubbles crying herself a salty ocean and Bunny…

…Alright, she didn't know how Bunny would react.

'Probably switch back and forth between crying her eyes red and plotting revenge on my soon-to-be killer.' The black-haired Utonium smiled faintly at that.

She was suddenly plunged and shook deeper and more violently, making her almost lose her focus and inhale nothing but pure cold water.

Trembling, she forced back a cough as she struggled not to breathe.

'Tch.' Frowning, Buttercup was nearing her limit; she needed to breathe soon –and fast.

Her assailant started to get impatient, and Buttercup was shaken again in an effort to drown her quicker. Giving her throat one tight crush, Buttercup was forced to exhale and then inhale large amounts of water, quickly becoming to her like poison.

Coughing violently, her peridot green eyes shot open and her invisible tears mixed in with the stinging water, her sight darkening fast…

Giving her throat one last crush, her assailant finally removed her two hands and letting Buttercup's submerged head slump down.

Closing her eyes for what she felt was the final time, her consciousness faded into darkness.

'Good-bye…'

_A little girl with short choppy black hair covering her eyes smirked._

_Don't you mean 'Hello'?_

…

…

…

_*Throb*_

Pain.

Buttercup winced inside her mind.

'W-What's going on!?'

_*Throb*_

A sudden, excruciating pain.

_*Throb*_

Burning.

She wanted to clutch her head.

'W-What the hell's happening to me?!'

_*Throb*_

A strange, burning sensation.

_*Throb*_

Buttercup would have screamed in agony …if she could move at all.

'W-Was this w-what Bunny felt?...' Buttercup mentally winced. It felt like extreme torture, she could barely even tolerate it, it was unbearable!

Even if her body was deathly still, Buttercup was frantic inside her mind.

And then she heard a very familiar voice…

_Don't be such a freaking baby._

The sudden onslaught of resurfacing memories began.

…

Memories…

…

Hidden memories…

My hidden memories?...

…

In her changing mind, Buttercup could imagine a little girl watching her blankly.

_Buttercup._

**Memories of her forgotten childhood.**

_Do you remember?_

* * *

Crossing her arms, Bunny looked all around her, studying the mass of curious spectators with watchful eyes.

She was supposed to meet her older blonde sister here at the quaint little café, and instead arrived to the sight of Hospital staff hauling her sister up into an ambulance!

Obviously, someone was going to pay.

Of all the various people present, however, only one held her attention.

What can she say?

_This guy really caught her eyes_.

Bunny inwardly huffed at sounding redundant.

There, standing next to a dark alleyway and a streetlamp, was a **very** familiar figure.

She studied him intently. His messy soft coffee brown hair still framing his face perfectly, eyes still hidden beneath his tinted shades as his face was turned, observing the same spectacle as the others in the crowd. She watched as he slowly reached up and pulled his shades over to rest above his head, and had to stifle a gasp as she finally saw his eyes, which were rather _attractive_.

And suddenly, he darted his dark purple pupils over towards her direction.

Amethyst eyes locked with tanzanite eyes.

Bunny was practically mesmerized by those half-lidded deep purple gemstones, almost missing how the guy narrowed his eyes as he stared at her intensely.

Bunny inwardly cursed, how the hell could a single guy make her so utterly nervous?!

…Oh right.

She almost forgot that she has a crush on the guy.

Bunny licked her lips, and she didn't miss how those enthralling pair of tanzanite immediately darted towards her now-shiny pink lips.

She should've worn lip-gloss today.

She watched, in partial confusion, as the admittedly cute guy suddenly winced and gave her one last stare before walking off into the dark alleyway, where he promptly and _oh-so_ mysteriously disappeared.

Bunny frowned.

Partly because she saw him **smirk** before he turned around, the bastard.

…The **cute** bastard.

…Dammit.

She almost followed him too, if it weren't for her recently-reacquired instincts screaming at her.

_Bad idea!_

She took out a pair of dark-tinted shades and put them on, and turned towards the commotion the now-dispersing crowd was viewing. In reality, she was surreptitiously scanning her surroundings, her amethyst pupils rapidly darting all around the place.

Bunny narrowed her eyes and frowned.

She had spotted a few hidden agents stationed atop the surrounding buildings, completely boxing her in, and watching everyone's every move.

"Che."

She really ought to sharpen and improve her instincts more, being sealed up for almost 6 years suck. Blossom was right, all their instincts dulled.

Someone suddenly tapped her shoulder, and Bunny spun around to come face to face with a man looking to be about the same age as The Professor if he were still alive. In fact, Bunny mused, their ages aren't the only things that are similar between The Professor and this red-haired man…

* * *

Even though he was facing the not-so interesting, well according to him, spectacle that the rest of the crowd was excessively fussing about, he could clearly see **all** of his surroundings. It was one reason why it was deemed impossible to sneak up on him.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw an _oh-so_ familiar figure watching him back.

Beast took in her appearance, feeling something different about her. She still had that long silky chocolate brown hair and the same twinkling light purple eyes, except that her eyes seemed to have gained… something. Something that compelled him to find out what it exactly was. She seemed to have lost that annoyingly cheery expression though.

Thankfully.

Reaching up slowly, he brought his dark shades up to his head, to get a clearer view.

He suddenly darted his dark purple pupils towards her direction.

Tanzanite eyes locked with amethyst eyes.

Now that he's seen her more closely, he had to admit. She was rather cute.

And that made him narrow his eyes.

Anyone that held his interest was **dangerous**.

Just ask his right-hand… woman… she was **both** dangerous and **maddening**.

And they wonder why he always sends her out on missions. Preferably long-term ones.

His musings were cut short when he saw her lick her lips, her pink tongue quickly darting from her mouth, and his eyes automatically stared at her luscious _inviting_ pink lips.

He inwardly groaned.

How the hell could a single girl affect him?!

…Ah, right.

She was different.

And suspicious.

He should really watch her more closely from now on.

**A** **lot** **more** closely.

…Hey, he had an excuse.

Beast suddenly winced as his hidden earpiece buzzed, the annoying voice of one of his men interrupting him.

Note to self: the bastard's getting a million sit-ups later.

Giving the girl one last stare, he walked off to the dark alleyway, promptly disappearing from sight.

But not without giving her a smirk, just to annoy her.

* * *

Yawning tiredly, a tall guy quietly leaned on one of the stations' decorative pillars, pale blue eyes blinking drearily, unaffected by the deafening sounds of the passing trains. Cool winds messing up even more his already unruly curly dark brown hair as he ran a hand through it, making no effort whatsoever to fix his disheveled clothes.

Watching impassively small crowds of people continuously passing by in front of him, he licked his lips.

'Peach-cream mulberry.'

His dull droning thoughts were cut short when a fuming petite girl stomped right towards him, quite loudly, he might add.

He silently raised a brow, which didn't go unnoticed by the fuming blonde.

"Not now!" She hissed, dark blue-green eyes narrowed.

He raised his brow even higher, "I didn't even say anything.".

The obvious 'Yet.' went unsaid.

"You didn't need to!" The girl's voice steadily went higher as she was practically screaming her rant. "I can tell what you're thinking!".

He blinked, bored.

"Your target is still alive, isn't she?"

"It's not my fault that the airheaded slut we call employer failed to mention a very important detail!" She hissed, "Stupid complication ruined everything!".

"What complication?"

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "My target apparently has a knight-in-shining-armor.".

"So?" He blinked again. "Just kill the bodyguard along with his precious princess.".

"Don't you think I would have already done that if I could? You're brain-dead as well as useless!" The girl sneered, ruining her rather pretty face. "Her stupid bodyguard's Verde!".

His posture straightened at that, eyes widening. "Verde? Muinotu's Verde?".

"No, Verde from the sweet little cake shop down the block. OF COURSE Muinotu's Verde, you shithead!" She roared, her red face exploding with ill-contained rage. "I would have already killed off my stupid black-haired target easily if it weren't for him!".

She promptly paused and sniffed the air.

"Why the hell do you smell like peach-cream mulberry?"

Unfazed by her earlier profanity-filled outburst, he merely raised a brow.

"Why the hell do you know what peach-cream mulberry smells like?"

She twitched.

"And just what do you mean by that?"

"Well," He drawled, walking in an unhurried pace towards one of the trains, his blonde partner following him with a dangerous scowl. "You don't really strike anyone as someone who would know about those kinds of things.".

He really should've noticed how calm her voice suddenly became.

Well, actually, he did, but chose not to act upon it.

"What are you saying?" She shouted at him, "That I'm not a girl? That I can't act all girly once in a while?!".

He shrugged, "It doesn't really suit you.".

"And why the hell not?!"

The guy merely huffed, boarded the train, and plopped down on a seat.

"Can't we talk later?" He whined dully, "I'm so tired!".

She narrowed her eyes as she took in his full appearance.

His jacket was crumpled, his necktie gone and his white shirt was loosely open, unbuttoned, and full of creases.

That, combined with his messy hair, she had a fairly good idea on what made him 'so tired'.

She was livid; her earlier tirade had _nothing_ on this one.

She kept silent though. She may not have the greatest self-control out there, but if there's one thing she can keep locked up, permanently too, if she has anything to say about it, it's this. It's him. She always bit her tongue when it came to him.

He will **never** know.

And besides, the last thing she wants is to be teased as _jealous_.

Gritting her teeth, she forced out, "At least tell me you actually succeeded in your part of the mission.".

His pale blue eyes drifted over to her before quickly looking back at the train's side window.

"Nope." He popped his lips, "My blonde-haired target's still breathing too. Plus, you would have to eliminate the café's waitress, she's a liability now and she's also the reason why I apparently smell like peach-cream mulberry. Strong stuff.".

"You incompetent moron!" She shrieked, moving closer to him. She filed away his additional little information later; the stupid café waitress would have to wait. "You're useless! And why the hell are you so nonchalant about this?!".

"Because, it's actually quite amusing." He hummed, tilting his head. "You were thwarted by Verde while I was thwarted by Blu.".

She almost choked.

"Blu!?"

"Apparently around the same time too."

"What the hell, no way could this be a coincidence!" The blonde girl frowned.

"Anyway, who cares?" He rolled his pale blue eyes, "We're still getting paid.".

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Our employer's just lucky her _family_ has tons of gold and money. Hell, I've practically mentioned their stupid _family's_ name! If not…".

Their conversation died fast as the train quickly filled with busy people crowding to fit inside the closing train.

It was a real pity though; If the two of them had turned to their rights by just a small degree of an angle, then they would have spotted another pair just like them that stood in one of the farther corners of the train from their seats, both foreign-looking and clad in fur-collared trench coats with the tall curly-haired girl facing them and grinning wickedly as her even-taller partner was busy talking on his cellphone.

They never noticed.

They were lucky they were just being followed, and nothing more.

* * *

As soon as the annoying crowd dispersed, Beast and his men got to work.

Closing off the surrounding area was the first thing they did, conducting a thorough investigation that was initiated with a call from Beast's blond older brother.

Invading the empty café's kitchen, they found nothing.

And by nothing, meaning literally **nothing**.

The so-called 'kitchen' was just an empty room.

"Wow…" Minerva commented, the heels of her boots clicking on the checker-tiled floors. "Are we sure we have the right place?".

Saying nothing, Beast kneeled on one knee, his right hand sweeping the ground, along with his keen eyes.

"Boss? What are you-" One of his men stepped closer, only to be halted by Minerva's hand on his chest. She held up her index finger to her mouth, silencing him. "Don't bother the boss." Minerva winked, smiling mischievously. "He's working.".

Their young boss continued to scan the ground and suddenly stopped, picking up a thin dark brown curl and held it up into the sunlight. "Found it.".

Standing up abruptly, Beast yawned and carelessly tossed the strand of hair to one of his men, who struggled to catch it. "Analyze that." He ordered simply as he walked away and exited the café.

His men nodded, "Got it, yes sir.".

Minerva ran up to her boss and joined him at his side, "So boss, any ideas?".

"We can't be sure until the D.N.A. test results arrive," Beast answered dryly. "But I have an idea…".

"Really?" Minerva asked, "Who?".

She almost stopped in her tracks when she saw the not-so-hidden mix of irritation and annoyance in those familiar dark purple orbs.

"It's them all right." Beast muttered, eyes narrowing behind his dark shades. "Daphne and Gerard.".

Minerva blinked in surprise.

"You mean the two most wanted freelance assassins in the Mafia?"

Beast raised a brow, as if saying 'Did you really just ask me that?'. Seeing the satirical look her boss was giving her, Minerva couldn't help blushing and bowing her head in embarrassment.

Continuing to walk, Beast met up with his two older brothers, who were both waiting for him beside a wall that Butch was leaning on with his hands tucked inside his pants pockets.

"I told you," Butch spoke to Boomer with unrestrained unease. "As soon as she didn't answer her phone, I knew something was up. Thankfully I got there just in time, or else she would be dead right now! I seriously owe you big time for secretly transmitting that tracking signal on her phone!".

"But isn't it weird?" Boomer spoke up, a look of hard contemplation on his handsome face. "Both girls were attacked at the exact same time. And not just by any common hit men either…".

"It can't be a coincidence." Boomer added, sapphire eyes narrowing.

It was then that both brothers noticed their youngest walking towards them.

"So?" Butch asked with barely contained impatience as Boomer stood up with an equally worried look, "What's the deal?".

"The deal?" Beast repeated blankly. What bothered those who heard him was that his voice was hollow.

Beast kept on walking.

"We stay away from those girls."

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS:**

**Verde (Green)**

**Blu (Blue)**

**Rosso (Red)**

* * *

**Me: ...Ooh! (In response to Beast's statement as this chapter's ending) Haha, c'mon Beast. You know you guys _just can't stay away_.  
**

"**(And) This guy really caught her eyes." –Chapter 3 (II)**

**I really like doing Bunny's and Beast's POV, they're just so fun and easy to write! The POV I dislike doing the most? …definitely the Green's. My weakness is witty insults/comebacks, action scenes, toughness, and basically anything related to them! I do try my best though…**

"**I believe you… even if you didn't tell me anyway." based on "…You wouldn't believe me even if I told you anyway…" –Chapter 5 (IV)**

**I'm having trouble recalling whether or not Blossom and Brick have kissed (As stated in the journal entries/flashbacks). Give the poor memory-troubled author a little help? I kinda need it for a possible part of the story's plot…**

**Waah, so many OCs… **

**Please excuse the profanities in this and all the subsequent chapters. **

**Oh god, the Amoeba Boys… as human mafia men. Yeah, I ran out of ideas as to who were the ones to kidnap Blossom, and well… I needed her abductors and her abductors' family to be able to be easily destroyed. Sorry for the Malattia Famiglia (Not.)**

**Once again, please excuse the rather lame name Muinotu. I couldn't think of anything else (And for those wondering just where I got that name, well, use a mirror.)**

"**Our employer's just lucky her **_**family**_** has tons of gold and money. Hell, I've practically mentioned their stupid **_**family's**_** name! If not…" –Remember that line, it's (kinda) important… and it's also a spoiler in itself. It's kinda obvious…**

**Also, Minerva isn't really Beast's blood sister, just to clear this up to some of you; she's Beast's babysitter who he sees as his sister.**

**Who is the mysterious red-haired man? Find out on the next chapter!**

**And to your other questions; all I can say is patience, the answers will all come soon!**

…**And my irregular updates will take even longer, sorry for that!**

**Writing Retracing Steps as I go is seriously hard! *Whines and complains to laptop* Leave me alone, Writer's Block!**

* * *

**Some clarifications about the last chapter (May contain some spoilers): **

Lisa was one of the De Leon Family's best spies and she was supposed to be posing as a thief to get arrested so that she would be able to rendezvous with Marco, the head of the De Leon assassination department, and four of his men in the Venetian police headquarters as she was tasked to get Intel about the Muinotu Family's assassination department. However, Cathlin got to her first, killed her, and took her spot as the undercover thief so as to set up Marco and his men in a solo ambush and eliminate them all by herself.

Of course, once the De Leon Family's boss, obviously named De Leon, had heard of this, he immediately exploded with rage and ordered his men to find out more about her. De Leon's most trusted advisor suggested that they first find a replacement for Marco and he proposed De Leon's nephew, and only remaining family member alive, Dylan De Leon, the absolute best the De Leon Family ever had. Problem is, Dylan willingly retired a few years ago due to unknown reasons. So imagine De Leon's surprise when he receives a sudden phone call from Dylan, who called to tell him that he was coming back from retirement.

It was all according to the most trusted advisor's plan as he had sent Jace, the head of the De Leon Family intelligence department and Dylan's childhood/best friend, to go and try to get Dylan to come back. After revealing that Marco and his men were eliminated by a single girl and seeing a picture of said girl, Dylan promptly stated that he developed a 'crush' on Cathlin and picked up his phone to dial his uncle.

At around the same time, Cathlin, after incurring the wrath of the De Leon Family, quickly came back home to one of her own family's mansions and met up with Caitlin and talked about her earlier actions, especially with her secretly giving Bunny the rest of the missing journal pages while she was disguised as a thief. They both were interrupted by the loud and shrill screaming of Catherine, the Cicerra Family boss and their aunt, making Cathlin dejectedly go and face punishment. Before she left, Caitlin asked about the reason why Cathlin pushed Bunny into the raging waters.

Again, at around the same time, Minerva went back to one of their family's assassination department's mansions to go and report to her boss, Beast. Beast inquired as to why Minerva went on the mission without a disguise and promptly gave her a quick scolding before going back to sleep. It was revealed here that Minerva was supposed to intercept Lisa and confirm whether or not the De Leon Family had Intel on their assassination department, but failed when Minerva found out that someone else got to Lisa first. Minerva was relieved and left happily, planning to play matchmaker to her impassive boss and the happy-go-lucky Bunny, thoroughly scaring the two guards by the door.

…And that was basically the summary of last chapter's whole **intro**.

…Wow.


	9. Announcement

**(Taken from my Profile)**

**Chrysne's Journal**

**05-22-13**

(Currently focusing on 'Retracing Steps')

Ok, Here's the problem.

I'm sorry to inform 'Retracing Steps' readers that my updates will now be drastically slower.

My primary reason (read: my antagonist)? College. Yeah, I'm gonna be focusing on my studies now... (as opposed to before when I had a carefree attitude towards education. I never study but I also never fail, which is lucky for me, as I had a lot of time to dedicate to my stories...)

My other reasons (read: my antagonist's allies)? Well... laziness, lethargy, procrastination, writer's block, loss of interest, continuing to think up of new story ideas therefore creating more 'rivals' for 'Retracing Steps', reading numerous stories/books/manga/light novels, watching numerous movies/anime, continuing to write all my other original stories, etc. ...

...Yeah.

But don't worry, I'm not giving up on 'Retracing Steps'! *gets elbowed by my friend and main 'Retracing Steps' supporter that often changes her pen name, Alex* Okay! also all my other stories too! ...at least, the ones my fickle self is currently interested in...

As I said, I'll be updating after I finish College in a few years... *gets yelled loudly at the ears by Alex* Okay! I'll try to update whenever I can!

Besides, I'm kinda excited about the future chapters of 'Retracing Steps' too, now that the plot is finally beginning to get interesting...

...not that it wasn't interesting before...

Yeah, I'm rambling. I know.

Anyway, I hope you can understand.

Oh, and if you have found any errors, please inform me!

Read and Review!

_**signed**_**: Chrysne**

**Me: So, to compensate, I present you with some spoilers, parts of the future chapter 'VIII':**

* * *

**(Bubbles' Awakening) _(Me: About time. I just wanted to get this part over with…)_**

As she was being rushed through the hospital's extensive hallways, Bubbles blinked indolently, despite what the paramedics cautioned her.

"No, don't close your eyes!"

Bubbles blinked again, her sight rapidly dimming and she felt nauseous.

'Buttercup… Bunny…' The blonde Utonium cried, her eyelids slowly dropping. 'I-I'm sorry…'.

Bubbles closed her eyes.

…

…

…

*_Throb_*

If Bubbles could move, she would have gasped in pain.

'W-What's going on!?'

*_Throb_

She felt a sudden and excruciating pain cover her mind!

She wanted to scream aloud.

*_Throb_*

Burning.

Her whole body was burning!

*_Throb_

'W-What's happening to me?!'

*_Throb_*

Bubbles felt tears forming around her clouded eyes.

The pain was unbareable!

'T-This must have been w-what Bunny felt...' Bubbles thought.

Even if her numb body was deathly still, Bubbles was desperate inside her mind.

'M-Make it stop!'

_Calm down._

Bubbles inwardly gasped.

The voice was strangely familiar…

'W-Who…'

_A little blonde girl smiled._

_Just watch._

A sudden onslaught of memories resurfaced.

…

Memories…

…

Buried memories…

My… memories?...

…

In her mind, Bubbles could barely make out the figure of a small girl with blonde hair tied into twin pigtails that ended just above her shoulders, her bangs concealing her eyes.

The little girl looked oddly familiar…

'Who…'

She was watching her, Bubbles thought; the little girl was silently watching her with a smile.

_Bubbles._

**Memories of her forgotten childhood.**

_Do you remember?_

* * *

**(The Hospital Room Quote War)**

Bubbles slowly opened her eyes to find that she was currently inside a hospital room, the silence broken only by the continuous sounds of the various monitors and other equipment situated inside.

Gently sitting up into a more comfortable position, her whole body ached as she noticed the IV drip connected to her right hand.

She winced and then sighed.

"You can stop pretending." Bubbles casually spoke aloud, eyes focused on her right hand as she fiddled with her IV needle, "I know you're awake.".

"…Damn." A low grunt came from the white hospital bed next to her own and she faintly heard the sounds of moving bed sheets. "Should've known I couldn't pull one over you.".

Buttercup sat up with a yawn, voice hoarse and throat sore. "Good morning, sleeping beauty.".

"If you couldn't before, what makes you think you could now?" Bubbles smiled, asking the sole other occupant of the blindingly white hospital room.

"It must've been those stupid sedatives…" The black-haired girl scowled, making Bubbles smile wider.

Buttercup **hated** hospitals.

Buttercup looked at her sister with a blank expression, which, along with her messy black hair that clung to her face and neck, gave her a disheveled appearance.

"So, how'd you know?"

Her hoarse voice asked without any curiosity.

It was more of a confirmation, rather than a question.

"That you were faking unconsciousness?" Bubbles hummed, successfully removing the IV needle. "Please, Buttercup. You're way too easy to read.".

Buttercup rolled her peridot green eyes as she looked away, smiling lazily.

"As expected."

"My eyes see everything…" Bubbles calmly stated, aquamarine blue eyes swiftly looked up and gazed at her roommate's face. "Remember?".

Buttercup didn't miss the dual undertone of her sister's words.

"Yeah…" Buttercup sighed and looked out the window, fingers idly touching the white bandages wrapped tightly around her neck. "I **remember**.".

"Still…" She added, gaining the attention of her blonde sister, "This all seems impossible, you know?".

"You know what Blossom said," Buttercup leaned her cheek on the palm of her hand. " '_Our reality may be just a fantasy to others…' _".

Bubbles blinked, "When did you get so deep?".

"Oh, ha-ha! Very funny…" Buttercup lightly scowled as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, you have always been the most stubborn of us four…" Bubbles' lips quirked up at that.

"And besides," The blonde continued, "Blossom too had a counter for each and every one of her sayings, remember? I believe that saying's counter was, _'Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.'_ ".

Buttercup merely huffed.

"Of course," Bubbles smiled, which Buttercup saw as more of a smirk, "That still didn't stop you from bothering Blossom all day…".

_"Reality is wrong." Blossom stated with an irritated expression on her face. "Dreams are for real. Disturb me one more time, and I'll kill you."._

"I was eight!" Buttercup defended with a huff, crossing her arms. "I was young!".

Bubbles giggled, knowing her black-haired sister was pouting.

"Oh, _please_ don't tell me you're **still** in denial!"

The new voice alerted them to the presence of one more person in the room, who, without taking her eyes away from the two patients, didn't fully close the door behind her.

Bubbles smiled brightly as Buttercup rolled her eyes.

"Bunny!"

"Bunny."

The brunette stood there with an irritated expression plastered on her face.

"Besides," Bunny spoke casually, contrasting the intense look in her amethyst eyes. "My current favorite among her quotes was, _'Delay is the deadliest form of denial…'_ ".

"_It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept._" Buttercup quoted with crossed arms.

**Bunny glared. **

Bubbles looked at Bunny and commented, "_Reality is the leading cause of **stress** among those in touch with it._".

**Terrifyingly.**

"Alright, alright!" Buttercup grumbled, hands held in front of her in a placating gesture. "We get it, we get the message!".

Bunny immediately lightened up and smiled, feeling satisfied.

"Right…" She said, rummaging through her small backpack. Both Bubbles and Buttercup suddenly found a pile of pink scented journal pages thrown on their laps.

"Wha-"

Bunny cut them off, leaning ever-so coolly on the doorframe.

"There are still some pages you two need to read."

"Right now?" Bubbles blinked, gathering her own pile in her still-sore hands.

Bunny merely nodded silently.

The serious look in her face was enough to get them to read.

* * *

**(Blossom's Journal Entry) (Fragment)**

_We were interrupted before things could escalate any further by the limousine finally coming to a halt in front of an enormous portico, tall marble columns lining the sides of the straight vertical walkway, granite floors leading to the mansion's large entrance double doors that were a mix of ivory and frosted glass._

"_We're at the Main mansion?" Beast spoke up, staring at the huge mansion and blinking behind his dark purple shades as the limousine's driver helped me out of the car. "Damn, I left my paperwork at the Cinque Terra mansion. Ah well."._

"_Just get one of your men to fetch it for you!" Butch spat, storming straight into the luxurious mansion._

_Boomer rolled his eyes, "Don't worry. The Central mansion houses numerous copies of all paperwork. Just have someone fax it to you."._

_I blinked, incredulous (And hopefully not gaping). "How many mansions do you have?"._

_Boomer blinked, looking up as if mentally counting. Then he used his fingers to count. He repeated hands. He repeated hands again. He was teasing me._

_I narrowed my eyes at him, hands resting on my hips._

_He gave me a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his head._

"_Sorry, sorry…" He laughed lightly. "Actually, we have this many mansions." He held up four fingers._

_I nodded, "Ah, so you have four mansions…"._

_Boomer looked at me weirdly._

"_No, we have forty mansions."_

_I gasped aloud, eyes wide and eyebrows raised._

"_Forty mansions!?"_

_Beast casually spoke up, "Bro, include the ones __**outside**__ of Italy."._

_I almost choked._

_Boomer blinked again, nodding as he looked up. "Oh yeah, I forgot about those!"._

_I practically shouted, "You mean those forty were only located in Italy!?"._

"_Yep." Boomer nodded, "All in all, I guess we have about… let's see… um, could I get a calculator first?"._

_How rich were these people?!_

* * *

**Extra: Inward Thoughts…**

"That you were faking unconsciousness?" Bubbles hummed, successfully removing the IV needle. "Please, Buttercup. You're way too easy to read.".

**('That,' Bubbles thought, inwardly rolling her eyes. 'And you still suck at acting.'.)**

Buttercup rolled her peridot green eyes as she looked away, smiling lazily.

"As expected."

**('Way too easy to read?' Buttercup thought, inwardly twitching. 'Tell that to my fallen enemies!'.)**

"My eyes see everything…" Bubbles calmly stated, aquamarine blue eyes swiftly looked up and gazed at her roommate's face. "Remember?".

Buttercup didn't miss the dual undertone of her sister's words.

"Yeah…" Buttercup sighed and looked out the window, fingers idly touching the white bandages wrapped tightly around her neck. "I **remember**.".

**('Yeah, I remember that you used to wear glasses.' Buttercup thought, inwardly smirking.)**

"Still…" She added, gaining the attention of her blonde sister, "This all seems impossible, you know?".

**('Still in denial, Buttercup…' Bubbles inwardly rolled her eyes. 'I can see why Bunny's so irritated.'.)**

"You know what Blossom said," Buttercup leaned her cheek on the palm of her hand. " '_Our reality may be just a fantasy to others…' _".

Bubbles blinked, "When did you get so deep?".

"Oh, ha-ha! Very funny…" Buttercup lightly scowled as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, you have always been the most stubborn of us four…" Bubbles' lips quirked up at that.

**('And you still are.' Bubbles added silently.)**

"And besides," The blonde continued, "Blossom too had a counter for each and every one of her sayings, remember? I believe that saying's counter was, _'Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures.'_ ".

Buttercup merely huffed.

"Of course," Bubbles smiled, which Buttercup saw as more of a smirk, "That still didn't stop you from bothering Blossom all day…".

**('And almost getting killed by her.' Bubbles inwardly smirked.)**

"_Reality is wrong." Blossom stated with an irritated expression on her face. "Dreams are for real. Disturb me one more time, and I'll kill you."._

"I was eight!" Buttercup defended with a huff, crossing her arms. "I was young!".

**('Yeah, young and stupid.' Bubbles thought, inwardly smirking. 'Not like anything changed…'.)**

Bubbles giggled, knowing her black-haired sister was pouting.

* * *

**Extra: Words to Girls… (From Blossom's Journal Entry)  
**

_I was practically biting my fingernails as the ornate gold-and-black iron gates (With numerous guard posts stationed every half-kilometer or so) separated, allowing the sleek black limousine entry into the ridiculously enormous estate manor._

"_Don't be so nervous." Boomer smiled at me, which I think he meant reassuringly. _

_He was not helping._

"_Yeah," Butch spoke up from where sat in front of me, leaning back onto the black leather seats. "You look constipated."._

_Ignoring Boomer's warning looks and Beast's sighing, Butch added, "And quite badly too. Look, you're giving yourself wrinkles with all that worrying!"._

…

_Only __**three**__ people exited the limousine._

* * *

**Me: "Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures." –Jessamyn West**

**"Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real." –Tupac Shakur**

**"Delay is the deadliest form of denial." –C. Northcote Parkinson **

**"It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept." –Bill Watterson**

**"Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it." –Lily Tomlin**

**And the other quotes are mine.**


End file.
